or I guess I'm not buying FRAPS because paypal just decided it doesn't trust me after I tried to change my billing address and add a new credit card
and since I don't have a land line it's going to MAIL ME A LETTER to get my paypal account up and running
god dammit
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FishmanPut your goddamned hand in the goddamned Box of Pain.Registered Userregular
edited July 2011
Yeah, I think Fraps would be necessary for a Frozen Synapse LP. Although can't you do 30 seconds with the free one? That's practically a match half the time. Meh, whatever.
and here's Episode 2, which isn't that exciting because the enemies don't shoot back. But I made a video and put it on Youtube and you can watch everything happen in real time!
EPISODE 2 - Sucks To Be These Red Guys
Without warning, a new playfield image appears to replace the previous one. I can see there are five of my friends here this time.
Smart Hero: Oh, man. We don't even get a chance to rest, huh? This sucks. GeoMitch: Take a deep breath, SH. We'll get through this together.
Actually, I don't think anyone's in any danger here. This time it looks like we just have to kill enough unarmed people to satisfy the Entity's bloodlust.
GeoMitch and SH are back again. GeoMitch (Shotgun 1) is down there in the bottom right, and SH (Shotgun 2) is in the bottom middle of the map. Looks like a newcomer is above them, toward the middle of the playfield. It's VALVEjunkie. (Shotgun 5)
VALVEjunkie: Oh man, I'm actually playing now? It was much better when I was just waiting in the void and not actually risking my life.
Above them are two more friends. They're wielding machine guns. To the northwest is Antimatter (MG 3) and to the northeast is TrippyJing (MG 4).
Antimatter: What? What's happening? TrippyJing: Don't get too worked up. At least we have machine guns. And at least these unarmed folks aren't going to be able to shoot us back. Smart Hero: How do we know these avatars aren't actually inhabited by more of our friends?
We don't. We'll just have to hope they're being controlled by The Entity, or whoever is playing against us, like last time.
GeoMitch: Actually, we don't know that at any time, do we? Maybe the "other team" from last round was being controlled and played by more prisoners like us. VALVEjunkie: All I know is that everyone watching from the void last round was still accounted for at the end of it. We did a head count. TrippyJing: More of a consciousness count. VALVEjunkie: You know what I mean. Antimatter: I still don't really understand what's going on. Smart Hero: It's pretty simple. Pray that Captain K points your torso in the right direction and shoot anything that's not us. Antimatter: Umm, okay. I guess I can handle that.
Without the risk of enemies shooting back, I don't worry too much about the planning for this round. I just send everyone out toward the red team and make sure they've got as many potential targets as possible.
Nice, both of them getting kills at exactly the same time.
GeoMitch: This one's mine! TrippyJing: Nope! I got him first! And this other one too!
Wow, TrippyJing's deadly.
Antimatter: Graaaaghhhh! *bumbumbumbumbumbumbum* Smart Hero: Whatever. *BLAM* Antimatter: *bumbumbumbum* Well at least I got one!
That was a brutal turn. And the next one?
Antimatter: I think I get it now. *bumbumbum* And you're dead. *bumbumbumbumbum* And you're dead too. GeoMitch: Jeez, you're turning into Smart Hero. Smart Hero: No way. I still have more kills.
Oh, here goes VALVEjunkie...
VALVEjunkie: *BLAM* I guess this isn't so hard.
Only one left. Who will take him down?
VALVEjunkie: *BLAM BLAM* Me? GeoMitch: *BLAM* Oh, I guess you already got him. VALVEjunkie: Yep.
The smoke clears and my friends are all still alive. These ten random unarmed fleshbags are not.
And here's another update. I had the three hours necessary to put it together before I went to work. That's right, three hours for a minute-long mission! Fishman and others, I have new respect for you.
Check the end of the spoilered section for the youtube clip. And I'm updating the kill counts in the depth chart on the first page after each mission.
Episode 3 - Escort This!
A new playfield appears. It looks like only a tiny handful of my friends will be involved this time. But who are these yellow folks?
Uh oh. I think I know what this means.
TrippyJing: A fucking escort mission? What is this, Wing Commander all of a sudden?
The Entity deigns to respond to this comment, but only with uproarious laughter.
TrippyJing: Yuk it up, fuzzball. I bet you're actually a Kilrathi. GeoMitch: Dude, what are you even talking about? And where's Smart Hero? I miss him already. Antimatter: Guess you'll have to settle for me and Trippy this time. GeoMitch: You certainly fill the role of bloodythirsty killer, Antimatter.
Assuming the two red shotgun dudes will head toward my escort VIPs, I plan to send my team to cover the likely approaches to their path. Antimatter (MG 1) will head southwest and then aim south. TrippyJing (MG2) will head southeast and cover the other line of fire toward the open southern area. GeoMitch (Shotgun 3) will head toward that cover and aim south in case any enemy moves along the wall it's part of.
The turn starts, my buds move into position. Near the end of the turn, GeoMitch finds himself staring at an enemy across the cover.
GeoMitch: Fuck! This isn't good!
At least he's closer to the cover than the enemy. That might make some difference.
GeoMitch: Easy for you to say! Start the turn already so I can shoot at this jerk!
That seems like the only real plan here. Antimatter and TrippyJing will continue following their previous orders and cover their fields of fire.
The turn starts, and GeoMitch exchanges fire with the tango.
GeoMitch: *BLAM BLAM BLAM* YEAH! I GOT YOU, BITCH!
He takes him down with the second of three shots. Meanwhile, the other enemy moves into Trippy's line of fire.
Antimatter: Nice shot, GeoMi-- TrippyJing: *bumbumbumbum* What's that you were saying? Antimatter: Damn.
Thank goodness for all that.
The escort group is slowly moving east toward that green door on the far right of the map. Suddenly, a new contact appears to the north.
This tango could come toward us by heading southwest, around the northmost corner of that central building, then by heading straight south or by going through the interior of the building. Or he could just go straight south-southeast and head down the other corridor, which seems more likely.
I'll deploy my dudes assuming he's headed south-southeast. If he takes the other, longer way around, I can react later, but I don't want Antimatter to fall too far behind the VIPs if he doesn't have to hang around the back. GeoMitch will head into the building for a possible flank while TrippyJing will beeline for the eastern north/south corridor to cut off a path that way.
TrippyJing: I almost believe you have some idea what you're doing, Captain K. Antimatter: Whatever. Just point me at 'em.
Here goes.
No shots fired this turn. But that enemy shotgunner did, in fact, choose to move to his west. I guess he's just going straight toward the VIPs. Also, a sniper appears to the north!
GeoMitch: I hope it's not Bogey. Captain K won't be able to concentrate for all his donglust.
Nope, it's an enemy sniper. I'm a bit worried now, I don't know what snipers can do in this environment. I'll have to play it safe and avoid giving him the chance to line up a shot on my guys.
Also, I need to deal with that shotgunner.
Antimatter will have to move back toward the VIPs. I'll have her stop moving once she's able to aim northwest toward that north/south corridor the shotgunner is likely heading for. If the tango does come out of that corridor, he won't stand a chance against Antimatter, who's aiming right for him and standing still to boot.
Antimatter: Whatever. Just point me at 'em. Geomitch: Are you even paying attention? He just said he's going to point you at him. Antimatter: Whatever.
Meanwhile, I'll have TrippyJing back up and head into the building with Geomitch. I need to avoid presenting either of them for the enemy sniper to target for a long-range shot.
TrippyJing: Your concern is touching.
Let's see how this plays out.
No shots fired this round either. The enemy shotgunner behaves just as I hoped. He's headed toward the VIPs and Antimatter. He'll round the corner and be gunned down.
That sniper is just moving toward the west along the very north edge of the map. I'm still glad I've got GeoMitch and TrippyJing in the building, because they're safe from him and from any enemies that appear later. They're also near the center of the map and near the VIPs' path, so I can get them moving toward potential threats quickly.
If the sniper keeps moving how he's moving, I won't have to worry about him at all. And as far as the next turn goes, I don't need to update any commands. Let's just watch Anti kill that shotgunner.
The sniper keeps moving west. Whatever, if he wants to make himself a non-factor, that's fine with me.
I'm also still satisfied with where Mitch and Trippy are. I'll leave them in the building there and use them to respond to other threats, while Antimatter continues along her original path, escorting the VIPs.
Time for another turn.
*036
That sniper is just gone, it seems.
TrippyJing: Do you hear us complaining?
Suddenly, the western map wall explodes for no fucking reason!
GeoMitch: What the hell was that?! Antimatter: I could care less. TrippyJing: You know, that actually means that you do care, at least a little bit... Antimatter: AMOUNT OF CARING: ZERO. GeoMitch: Okay, we get it.
Sniper no longer a threat. But suddenly there's two new contacts with machine guns to the northeast. This could get hairy, for both our VIPs and for my three pals.
Here's the plan.
Those machine gunners could take one of three basic paths--through that north/south corridor that's southwest of them (and east of Mitch and Trippy), through the building south of them, or through the far eastern north/west corridor (which would take them near the VIPs' destination).
I'm going to split up my team to cover all three of those paths. Trippy is closest to that middle north/south corridor, so he'll pop out of the doorway and aim north. Mitch will cross into the eastern building here and camp by the doorway to surprise anyone coming through it. Anti will move out along the VIPs' path, but ahead of them, and make for the easternmost corridor.
Using the predictive simulation, I confirm my suspicion that units move faster if they're not strafing, so I make sure to queue up a Cancel Aim command at the beginning of each of my units' plans. The goal here is to beat the tangos to their potential paths, and I want my guys moving as quickly as possible.
The predictive simulation also has me a little worried about Antimatter (and the VIPs). In a footrace for that easternmost corridor, they might lose. Hopefully the tangos don't head for that route.
Let's see.
The shotgunners split up. One moves west along the north edge of the map, heading for that north/south corridor I have Trippy moving to cover. One goes south-southwest toward the building that I have Mitch headed to camp.
The westernmost tango comes around the corner much more quickly than I expect. Good thing TrippyJing's there to cover!
TrippyJing: *bumbumbumbumbum* Die!
Trippy hasn't quite hit the tango yet, and the turn ends abruptly.
TrippyJing: Go! Go! Just start the turn already, I'm going to wax this chump! GeoMitch: I'm not exactly finished moving into position yet...
Let's make sure we don't miss anything here. Trippy's already engaged with that tango in the top left, so it's up to him to finish the job off. I need to make sure I have both interior doorways well covered by GeoMitch and Antimatter, so I give them specific commands to ensure they surprise the other tango.
TrippyJing: WILL YOU HURRY UP ME AND THIS GUY ARE SHOOTING AT EACH OTHER OK
Okay, okay, here we go.
TrippyJing: *bumbumbum* Got him!
Those incoming shots felt too close, but Trippy got his man. GeoMitch and Antimatter move to their positions. Mitch reaches his quickly and waits, while Anti moves around the outside of the building and the VIPs keep tromping toward the exit.
Just as the turn is ending, the last remaining MG tango comes through the left interior doorway of the building. Mitch pulls the trigger like a boss, and...
Geomitch: *BL--
The turn ends with his killshot in midair.
GeoMitch: This. Is. Stupid. Antimatter: Stupid that you're over there stealing my kill. GeoMitch: Well, yeah. He's definitely dead. Don't bother changing the plan, Cap--that sniper is miles away and this guy in front of me is toast.
Whatever you say, guys. Here goes.
GeoMitch: *--AM* I told you.
Antimatter: These yellow jerks are almost at the exit. Looks like we made it. GeoMitch: Good thing that sniper was kind of a mouth-breather. Antimatter: Like he would have stood any kind of a chance against me. TrippyJing: Anti, I don't know if you're going to make it through this game...
So far the shotgunners do indeed seem to be extremely high risk/high reward.
I'm honestly trying not to play this game at all except for the campaign missions, so it's all coming up as pretty new. I really have next to no idea what snipers can do, for example, although I'll admit I played as far as mission 3 before I started this Let's Play from the beginning (quickly wiped, like within 3 turns) and also had a near-instantaneous mission wipe the first time I played it for the LP (within 5 turns).
I just updated Episode 3's text to use the correct pronoun to refer to Antimatter. *facepalm*
Anyway, if you're reading this thread and maybe enjoying it a little, can I get some feedback? Are you able to follow my train of thought from one turn to the next? Also, is it clear enough when I'm planning and when I'm actually initiating the outcome of each turn? I want to make sure this is as fun to follow as possible--though I've followed many myself, I've never done a Let's Play before, and the turn-based-but-also-real-time nature of Frozen Synapse makes me wonder if my posts are clear enough to really understand.
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AntimatterDevo Was RightGates of SteelRegistered Userregular
you're doing a great job, dude
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Jerkbotsome kind of hypnotistRegistered Userregular
edited July 2011
Looks like you're a bit low on !rocketlaunchers.
oh god i forgot how to do color there for a while
you can't tell from the youtube clips I'm uploading but holy shit the soundtrack to this game is absolutely incredible--I actually just paid $6 for it on Steam because I had it in my head at work all day
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TrippyJingMoses supposes his toeses are roses.But Moses supposes erroneously.Registered Userregular
I've tried to label each turn's planning phase and results phase clearly in this episode. I think this is the format I'll stick with from here on.
Again, for the real-time clip of the mission results, scroll to the bottom.
Unsurprisingly, it's not long before the image of a new gamefield replaces the previous one.
Mission Start
TrippyJing: Looks like we're getting the band back together sooner than I thought. GeoMitch: I still miss Smart Hero. Antimatter: Whatever. That guy's kind of a trigger-happy tool anyway. TrippyJing: ... GeoMitch: ...
Indeed, it looks like my team consists of the same three pals as last episode. Antimatter (MG 1) is in the central east/west corridor, while GeoMitch (SG 2) and TrippyJing (MG 3) are down there in that southwestern room system.
GeoMitch: So what's the plan, Cap?
Turn 1 Plan
I'll have Anti move north, into that north/south corridor she's just around the corner from. She'll stop next to that "window" and check a couple of different lines of fire. If the enemy to her immediate east (enemy MG 1) moves north, she'll have a bead on him, and if he stays near his window aiming south, she won't offer a line of fire for him toward herself. (Using the V key with any unit or waypoint highlighted lets me check the visibility from any one point to another. I confirm that Anti will be safe at her final waypoint for this plan, if enemy MG 1 stands still.)
At the end of her move, Anti will aim northeast in case the northernmost tango comes around toward her.
GeoMitch will sprint toward enemy MG 1, checking briefly to the east as he enters the central east/west corridor. (You can see that I've given him a "check" command a little way into his move toward his last waypoint.) I've discovered that I can give potential plans to enemy units and test them out with my predictive simulation function. Testing several paths for GeoMitch, and for a big handful of places that enemy MG 1 can aim south from, I identify the placements for Mitch's second-to-last and last waypoints that seem to give him the advantage in a quickdraw situation, no matter how prepared enemy MG 1 is, or just avoid a confrontation this turn altogether.
Trippy starts too far away from any enemy to move in for a kill on turn 1. All I can do is have him move toward that window (pictured next to one of Mitch's waypoints) with some narrow lines of fire toward potential destinations for the two tangos south of the major east/west corridor. MG units move significantly more slowly than shotgunners, so I can't plan too far ahead with Trippy's move--at max speed, with no aim commands (which result in strafe movment) he won't even reach the window this turn.
GeoMitch: Ha! Maybe you should ease up on the Twinkies, slowpoke. Trippy: You know this isn't even my real body, right?
Things look good here. At worst, I don't take down any tangos this turn. At best, I'll kill enemy MG 1 and MG 2. No matter how I plan out the enemies' potential movement, none of my team seem to be at risk.
GeoMitch: Here's where Smart Hero would say something about his lack of confidence in Captain K. Antimatter: Whatever. I'm about to blow past that nerd with my kill total.
Turn 1 Result
No shots fired, but some stuff happens here that makes it necessary to start planning against all the enemies' moves. Enemy MG 1, instead of hanging out in the window below him, moves north a few steps and then aims south toward that window. Strange, but more importantly, it keeps him from being able to target GeoMitch. Also, his movement is so brief that he doesn't even enter the line of fire Antimatter controls from her brief check southeastward. Maybe I can move her north a bit and extend her viewing angle through that window southward enough to take out enemy MG 1.
The northmost MG 1 takes the ponderous route southwest, but he stops short of rounding a corner and waits out the end of the turn.
The two tangos to the southeast make moves toward the two areas I assumed I'd have to worry about: one (enemy MG 2) heads toward the main east/west corridor, and the other (enemy MG 3) heads toward the P-shaped building that Trippy is moving to cover.
AntiMatter: Hey Cap? Who's this yellow jerk?
Hmm. Good question. I didn't even notice him before.
GeoMitch: He seems to be on our side, since he didn't shoot me or Anti. Although he's not moving a whole lot. I don't know if we should count on him for anything.
Well, I wasn't, because I didn't even realize he was here before.
Antimatter: Anyway. That idea you were talking about? Where I keep aiming this way and back up a little and then fucking murder that dude next to me? That sounds good. GeoMitch: As long as we're being cavalier about this, give me a chance too! I'm already headed toward that jerk and with this shotgun you know I've got a much faster trigger finger than he does.
Way ahead of you, guys.
Turn 2 Plan
This plan's actually really simple. The most complicated bits involve GeoMitch's move.
I want him to rush the window and potentially take out enemy MG 1. Once that's done, either way, he'll keep running north, through the doorway and eventually through another couple of doors. (You might notice a 90-degree turn in this plan, including a waypoint that seems unnecessary. I've added this extra movement in case enemy MG 4 comes down through those doorways from the north. In case he tries to draw a bead on Mitch as Mitch runs toward him, I want to make sure Mitch's path jukes to the side of the middle doorway for a brief instant. Breaking the enemy MG's line of sight, even for a tiny moment like that, will force him to "start over" with his aiming at Mitch, allowing Mitch to blast him quickly with the shotgun before the enemy can fire. Also, if the enemy MG does decide to move southwest through that doorway he's near, this puts Mitch in position to take him down halfway through Mitch's plan.)
GeoMitch: I almost believe you know what you're doing here.
I wish people would quit saying that.
TrippyJing: Hey, you finished two of these stupid things in a row without letting anyone die. I might be convinced myself. GeoMitch: Don't forget that they weren't shooting back in one of those. Antimatter: Whatever. Get on with it!
Okay. Anti's plan is very simple. She'll maintain her aim to her southeast and move north just a tiny bit. If enemy MG 1 stays still, she'll have a firing solution almost immediately into turn 2.
Trippy's plan is even simpler. He'll just finish the move I already had planned for him, which ends with him aiming to the east through that window just northeast of him. If either of those two enemies start moving toward the P-shaped building, Trippy will have an advantage.
Here goes!
Turn 2 Action
Enemy MG 1 does, in fact, stand motionless, aiming to the south, waiting for Mitch.
Antimatter: *bum* Thanks for playing.
Wow. One shot, one kill. Brutal.
Enemy MG 4, further to the north, does opt to move southwest through that doorway he was waiting near, and for a moment he tries to aim at Mitch through the window enemy MG 1 was covering. But Mitch's path jukes him through the doorway next to it, and enemy MG 4 loses his aim. Mitch bursts back into the tango's line of sight, but Mitch is only a short distance from shotgun engagement range, and the enemy is caught flat footed.
GeoMitch: *BLAM BLAM* Booyah!!
Trippy and enemy MG 2 actually have a couple of chances to aim at each other, at medium range and through a couple of windows. But Mitch's movement keeps attracting enemy MG 2's attention and the tango inches northward enough that he and Trippy can no longer aim at each other. Enemy MG 3 barely moves at all.
Yellow Dude doesn't do a whole lot. He just moves a couple of feet and stays in the corridor with Anti.
Also, a bunch of blue dudes are running around too? Hmm.
TrippyJing: I think we can ignore these blue guys even more than the yellow guy. Antimatter: Red guys. Find me more red guys.
Turn 2 Result
We have two of those left. The problem is all the open space they can cover with their MGs. If they're aiming toward my team and holding still, they'll have an advantage over my guys as they move from behind cover. I'll have to hope they present themselves for attacks of opportunity. Given his movement last turn, enemy MG 2 seems to be the more likely to expose himself to danger, so I'll plan on that possibility.
Turn 3 Plan
Very simple plan. I'll just move Mitch south a bit to cover the doorway he just came through. Anti will keep aiming southeast--the acute angle she's aiming through her window means she actually threatens a section of the central east/west corridor. Basically, if enemy MG 2 decides to follow Mitch through the doorway Mitch just went through last turn, he's fucked. Either Anti will take him out before he reaches it, or Mitch will blast him from where he's camping the doorway.
Trippy's just going to stay right where he is. If either of these guys move into his field of fire he'll have a huge advantage, since's he's already aiming the right way and he's remained still for several seconds now (both things the game system takes into account when determining accuracy).
Turn 3 Result
Damn. Not much happened here, aside from the blue guys running away. Both tangos kept themselves from my fields of fire--enemy MG 2 just stood still in the central east/west corridor, and enemy MG 3 just moved briefly to the north.
Yellow Dude just south a bit to the corner.
Antimatter: Now what? I'm not thrilled about standing still here--I want red guys in my crosshairs.
I don't think much is going to happen unless I make some moves, so I'm with Anti on this.
Turn 4 Plan
Here you can see the result of turn 3--barely changed, as I said--and my plan for the next turn.
Basically, I'm focused on having Mitch take advantage of his movement speed and come around from the north of the two enemies. I'll also have Trippy move toward the central corridor, since covering his window doesn't seem like it will help much if the enemy just wants to camp. I'll have him wait before he rounds the corner, though, because I'd rather risk him and Mitch at the same time if I have to risk either of them. At least we'll ensure a kill that way.
GeoMitch: Seriously. Smart Hero would be busting you so hard right now.
Anti will continue covering her window, because if enemy MG 2 decides to move west in the corridor, he'll come into her crosshairs.
Antimatter: Good.
Okay, let's go.
Turn 4 Action
Yellow Dude moves into the central corridor and starts firing at enemy MG 2, who's been aiming toward Yellow Dude and not moving.
So, Yellow Dude's dead.
TrippyJing: Oh, man. Antimatter: Drag.
Listen to my advice, jerk! Don't knowingly engage an enemy when they'll have an accuracy advantage!
Turn 4 Result
Aside from that, no other shots are fired. Mitch is moving around the north of enemy MG 2, and while Mitch briefly got his attention, he didn't have nearly enough time to take any shots. Trippy's waiting for my go to move into the corridor. Neither of the tangos even moved!
Turn 5 Plan
So here's what I'll do--I'll use all of my team at once to threaten the enemies, while minimizing their exposure.
TrippyJing: Ha! We'll see, I'm sure.
I start off by testing a lot of different potential moves for the two enemies. I want to have Mitch jump out from a corner, quickly blow away enemy MG 2, and then retreat behind the corner again before enemy MG 3 can get a bead on him. I adjust his waypoints to give him the briefest amount of exposure necessary to kill enemy MG 2, assuming that enemy stays motionless or moves east.
If he moves west, I've got some plans for him too. Antimatter will move south a bit, changing the angle she can aim southeast through the window and the doorway, and increase the zone she threatens in the central corridor. If enemy MG 2 moves west at all she'll be able to fire on him. (It's hard to see, but I also gave her a "wait" command after a bit of movement. I want her to aim southeast to cover MG 2's potential movement, but not forever--if he doesn't move west, the rest of her turn will be wasted. So, according to the plan, she'll wait at the window for a bit and then continue south toward the central east/west corridor where she can eventually join Trippy.)
Meanwhile, what about enemy MG 3? My tests show that he's the greatest danger to Mitch (which is why I plotted him an immediate escape route after his planned kill on MG 2). If enemy MG 3 decides to move north a bit, I want to threaten his path, so Trippy will emerge from his corner, strafing north as he aims east. If MG 3 moves north during this turn, Trippy will get a firing opportunity, and no matter how I test it, Trippy looks like he's going to survive for sure and get the kill maybe..
If you look closely at the plan, you'll see that I've actually instructed Mitch to ignore MG 3 and instructed Trippy to ignore MG 2. This seems nuts, but all my tests show that the greatest threat to any of my pals is MG 3 coming around a corner while they're distracted. Between Anti and Mitch it seems that MG 2's death is assured this turn, so I want Trippy to focus on the possibility that MG 3 moves forward into the central corridor.
Antimatter: God, would you shut the fuck up and get this thing moving?
Okay, okay!
Turn 5 Action
Mitch sprints southeast, preparing to round the corner. His path keeps giving MG 2 a glimpse of him, but the tango can't get a shot. Once Mitch pops around the corner, MG 2 tries to aim in earnest.
GeoMitch: *BLAM BLAM*
But it doesn't matter. MG 2's shot goes wide and Mitch serves him a buckshot sandwich.
GeoMitch: That's a terrible joke. But fuck that dude.
At the same time, Antimatter is firing--but not at MG 2, like I planned for, but at MG 3, who's moved north a tiny bit and barely exposed himself to her. Unfortunately, she hits the wall right in front of her a bunch of times and MG 3 moves west, out of immediate danger.
Antimatter: ...
Turn 5 Result
Okay, looks like we've just got this one last tango to take care of. I hate that he's camping where he is--there's not really any safe way for my MG units to approach him with an advantage. If he just decides to stay there, I'll need to have GeoMitch rush him around a corner and take him out with superior aiming speed.
But what if he decides to move north into the corridor or west into the P-shaped building?
Turn 6 Plan
I test a bunch of potential plans for my guys against a bunch of potential paths for the tango. If he moves into the P-shaped building with the intent of aiming west, he'll have an advantage over Trippy, who I want to move back down to the window to aim east. Instead of giving Trippy a suicide mission, I'll have him move down to that window and then crouch. He'll be in the right position, but out of danger, and I can give him updated commands next turn based on MG 3's movement.
Anti will move south and aim southeast just past the corner of the main corridor. She'll cover the path MG 3 might take into the corridor if he decides to move west, and she'll also be aiming at the window on the north wall of the P-shaped building. If MG 3 moves into the corridor, she'll have him, and if he moves into that P-shaped building toward Trippy, she'll get him through the window. I run a dozen tests on every path MG 3 might take and every time he exposes himself to Anti, she gets him in the simulation, regardless of whether he fires back or not.
Mitch will retrace his steps to the west, planning for the possibility that MG 3 remains motionless, which I mentioned above. I've made sure he'll ignore MG 3 for now--I don't want him to accidentally try to engage at maximum range against a pre-aiming MG 3, in the case that MG 3 behaves in such a way.
Antimatter: So basically you're saying that this turn is where I get another kill. GeoMitch: Still gunning for the top spot, huh? I don't think it's gonna happen. TrippyJing: You guys are really nuts. I'd rather make it through this alive than get any kills at all.
After exhaustive testing of every possibility, I'm ready to go.
Turn 6 Action
Everyone moves according to plan. MG 3 moves into the P-shaped building as I kind of expected. Trippy hops into position behind his window, catching MG 3's attention for a moment, but he crouches, breaking line of sight. Whew, good thing I planned that.
MG 3 heads west as Anti takes up her position aiming along his path. He moves into her line of sight and she opens fire.
Antimatter: *bumbumbum*
She's got the draw on MG 3 and should take him out easily, even though he returns fire after a moment.
Antimatter: *bumbum* *SPLATCH*
What? No!
TrippyJing: No!! GeoMitch: What happened?! I can't see!!
The turn ends, freezing time, as Antimatter's body is halfway crumpled to the floor.
I can't even process what's just happened. MG 3 must have chosen the exact right path to give him an advantage over Anti, even though she was able to start firing much earlier than him. Was it the cover from the window? All my testing with the predictive simulation made it seem like that wasn't enough of a factor to matter!
TrippyJing: Let. Me. Shoot. Him.
Turn 7 Plan
Okay, you got it. Let's fucking end this dude.
Trippy will just stand up and aim at the guy. The simulation suggests Trippy will take him down in one shot. If, somehow, he survives Trippy's hail of bullets, Mitch will sprint in from the east and wreck him.
TrippyJing: Do it. GeoMitch: Do it.
Do it.
Turn 7 Action
MG makes a move for the window he fired through last turn.
Trippy stands up.
TrippyJing: *bum*
MG 3 goes down.
Mitch comes around the corner, but it's all over already.
Mission Result
GeoMitch: ... TrippyJing: Look, Cap, it wasn't your fault. Like you said, you tested it every which way. GeoMitch: ... TrippyJing: At least Smart Hero isn't here to make you feel like shit.
Posts
and since I don't have a land line it's going to MAIL ME A LETTER to get my paypal account up and running
god dammit
Also,
Ha. AHah ha. AH aha hah ahah. AHAHahha HAHhA hHah Hah H AhHAH ha HAH AHH AahhahahahaHHAHhahaHhHAHaHHAahhAHahHHAAHhAHAhAHHAHAHAHAHAH...
What Fish said. He makes a good argument.
Why I fear the ocean.
Steam
but I'm not gonna do that right now
my only regret
is that bfl outlived me for a little bit
that jerk
Maybe I'll last longer in this LP than I did in Fishmans!
and I appreciate that
I did my duty
for captain K and SE++
I will !Shotgun people to death for you if you want.
EPISODE 2 - Sucks To Be These Red Guys
Smart Hero: Oh, man. We don't even get a chance to rest, huh? This sucks.
GeoMitch: Take a deep breath, SH. We'll get through this together.
Actually, I don't think anyone's in any danger here. This time it looks like we just have to kill enough unarmed people to satisfy the Entity's bloodlust.
GeoMitch and SH are back again. GeoMitch (Shotgun 1) is down there in the bottom right, and SH (Shotgun 2) is in the bottom middle of the map. Looks like a newcomer is above them, toward the middle of the playfield. It's VALVEjunkie. (Shotgun 5)
VALVEjunkie: Oh man, I'm actually playing now? It was much better when I was just waiting in the void and not actually risking my life.
Above them are two more friends. They're wielding machine guns. To the northwest is Antimatter (MG 3) and to the northeast is TrippyJing (MG 4).
Antimatter: What? What's happening?
TrippyJing: Don't get too worked up. At least we have machine guns. And at least these unarmed folks aren't going to be able to shoot us back.
Smart Hero: How do we know these avatars aren't actually inhabited by more of our friends?
We don't. We'll just have to hope they're being controlled by The Entity, or whoever is playing against us, like last time.
GeoMitch: Actually, we don't know that at any time, do we? Maybe the "other team" from last round was being controlled and played by more prisoners like us.
VALVEjunkie: All I know is that everyone watching from the void last round was still accounted for at the end of it. We did a head count.
TrippyJing: More of a consciousness count.
VALVEjunkie: You know what I mean.
Antimatter: I still don't really understand what's going on.
Smart Hero: It's pretty simple. Pray that Captain K points your torso in the right direction and shoot anything that's not us.
Antimatter: Umm, okay. I guess I can handle that.
Without the risk of enemies shooting back, I don't worry too much about the planning for this round. I just send everyone out toward the red team and make sure they've got as many potential targets as possible.
The next 15 seconds go by pretty quickly.
GeoMitch: *BLAM*
Smart Hero: *BLAM*
Nice, both of them getting kills at exactly the same time.
GeoMitch: This one's mine!
TrippyJing: Nope! I got him first! And this other one too!
Wow, TrippyJing's deadly.
Antimatter: Graaaaghhhh! *bumbumbumbumbumbumbum*
Smart Hero: Whatever. *BLAM*
Antimatter: *bumbumbumbum* Well at least I got one!
That was a brutal turn. And the next one?
Antimatter: I think I get it now. *bumbumbum* And you're dead. *bumbumbumbumbum* And you're dead too.
GeoMitch: Jeez, you're turning into Smart Hero.
Smart Hero: No way. I still have more kills.
Oh, here goes VALVEjunkie...
VALVEjunkie: *BLAM* I guess this isn't so hard.
Only one left. Who will take him down?
VALVEjunkie: *BLAM BLAM* Me?
GeoMitch: *BLAM* Oh, I guess you already got him.
VALVEjunkie: Yep.
The smoke clears and my friends are all still alive. These ten random unarmed fleshbags are not.
Coincidence? I think not.
Check the end of the spoilered section for the youtube clip. And I'm updating the kill counts in the depth chart on the first page after each mission.
Episode 3 - Escort This!
Uh oh. I think I know what this means.
TrippyJing: A fucking escort mission? What is this, Wing Commander all of a sudden?
The Entity deigns to respond to this comment, but only with uproarious laughter.
TrippyJing: Yuk it up, fuzzball. I bet you're actually a Kilrathi.
GeoMitch: Dude, what are you even talking about? And where's Smart Hero? I miss him already.
Antimatter: Guess you'll have to settle for me and Trippy this time.
GeoMitch: You certainly fill the role of bloodythirsty killer, Antimatter.
Assuming the two red shotgun dudes will head toward my escort VIPs, I plan to send my team to cover the likely approaches to their path. Antimatter (MG 1) will head southwest and then aim south. TrippyJing (MG2) will head southeast and cover the other line of fire toward the open southern area. GeoMitch (Shotgun 3) will head toward that cover and aim south in case any enemy moves along the wall it's part of.
The turn starts, my buds move into position. Near the end of the turn, GeoMitch finds himself staring at an enemy across the cover.
GeoMitch: Fuck! This isn't good!
At least he's closer to the cover than the enemy. That might make some difference.
GeoMitch: Easy for you to say! Start the turn already so I can shoot at this jerk!
That seems like the only real plan here. Antimatter and TrippyJing will continue following their previous orders and cover their fields of fire.
The turn starts, and GeoMitch exchanges fire with the tango.
GeoMitch: *BLAM BLAM BLAM* YEAH! I GOT YOU, BITCH!
He takes him down with the second of three shots. Meanwhile, the other enemy moves into Trippy's line of fire.
Antimatter: Nice shot, GeoMi--
TrippyJing: *bumbumbumbum* What's that you were saying?
Antimatter: Damn.
Thank goodness for all that.
The escort group is slowly moving east toward that green door on the far right of the map. Suddenly, a new contact appears to the north.
This tango could come toward us by heading southwest, around the northmost corner of that central building, then by heading straight south or by going through the interior of the building. Or he could just go straight south-southeast and head down the other corridor, which seems more likely.
I'll deploy my dudes assuming he's headed south-southeast. If he takes the other, longer way around, I can react later, but I don't want Antimatter to fall too far behind the VIPs if he doesn't have to hang around the back. GeoMitch will head into the building for a possible flank while TrippyJing will beeline for the eastern north/south corridor to cut off a path that way.
TrippyJing: I almost believe you have some idea what you're doing, Captain K.
Antimatter: Whatever. Just point me at 'em.
Here goes.
No shots fired this turn. But that enemy shotgunner did, in fact, choose to move to his west. I guess he's just going straight toward the VIPs. Also, a sniper appears to the north!
GeoMitch: I hope it's not Bogey. Captain K won't be able to concentrate for all his donglust.
Nope, it's an enemy sniper. I'm a bit worried now, I don't know what snipers can do in this environment. I'll have to play it safe and avoid giving him the chance to line up a shot on my guys.
Also, I need to deal with that shotgunner.
Antimatter will have to move back toward the VIPs. I'll have her stop moving once she's able to aim northwest toward that north/south corridor the shotgunner is likely heading for. If the tango does come out of that corridor, he won't stand a chance against Antimatter, who's aiming right for him and standing still to boot.
Antimatter: Whatever. Just point me at 'em.
Geomitch: Are you even paying attention? He just said he's going to point you at him.
Antimatter: Whatever.
Meanwhile, I'll have TrippyJing back up and head into the building with Geomitch. I need to avoid presenting either of them for the enemy sniper to target for a long-range shot.
TrippyJing: Your concern is touching.
Let's see how this plays out.
No shots fired this round either. The enemy shotgunner behaves just as I hoped. He's headed toward the VIPs and Antimatter. He'll round the corner and be gunned down.
That sniper is just moving toward the west along the very north edge of the map. I'm still glad I've got GeoMitch and TrippyJing in the building, because they're safe from him and from any enemies that appear later. They're also near the center of the map and near the VIPs' path, so I can get them moving toward potential threats quickly.
If the sniper keeps moving how he's moving, I won't have to worry about him at all. And as far as the next turn goes, I don't need to update any commands. Let's just watch Anti kill that shotgunner.
Antimatter: *bumbumbum* Next.
TrippyJing: Damn! Cold blooded.
The sniper keeps moving west. Whatever, if he wants to make himself a non-factor, that's fine with me.
I'm also still satisfied with where Mitch and Trippy are. I'll leave them in the building there and use them to respond to other threats, while Antimatter continues along her original path, escorting the VIPs.
Time for another turn.
*036
That sniper is just gone, it seems.
TrippyJing: Do you hear us complaining?
Suddenly, the western map wall explodes for no fucking reason!
GeoMitch: What the hell was that?!
Antimatter: I could care less.
TrippyJing: You know, that actually means that you do care, at least a little bit...
Antimatter: AMOUNT OF CARING: ZERO.
GeoMitch: Okay, we get it.
Sniper no longer a threat. But suddenly there's two new contacts with machine guns to the northeast. This could get hairy, for both our VIPs and for my three pals.
Here's the plan.
Those machine gunners could take one of three basic paths--through that north/south corridor that's southwest of them (and east of Mitch and Trippy), through the building south of them, or through the far eastern north/west corridor (which would take them near the VIPs' destination).
I'm going to split up my team to cover all three of those paths. Trippy is closest to that middle north/south corridor, so he'll pop out of the doorway and aim north. Mitch will cross into the eastern building here and camp by the doorway to surprise anyone coming through it. Anti will move out along the VIPs' path, but ahead of them, and make for the easternmost corridor.
Using the predictive simulation, I confirm my suspicion that units move faster if they're not strafing, so I make sure to queue up a Cancel Aim command at the beginning of each of my units' plans. The goal here is to beat the tangos to their potential paths, and I want my guys moving as quickly as possible.
The predictive simulation also has me a little worried about Antimatter (and the VIPs). In a footrace for that easternmost corridor, they might lose. Hopefully the tangos don't head for that route.
Let's see.
The shotgunners split up. One moves west along the north edge of the map, heading for that north/south corridor I have Trippy moving to cover. One goes south-southwest toward the building that I have Mitch headed to camp.
The westernmost tango comes around the corner much more quickly than I expect. Good thing TrippyJing's there to cover!
TrippyJing: *bumbumbumbumbum* Die!
Trippy hasn't quite hit the tango yet, and the turn ends abruptly.
TrippyJing: Go! Go! Just start the turn already, I'm going to wax this chump!
GeoMitch: I'm not exactly finished moving into position yet...
Let's make sure we don't miss anything here. Trippy's already engaged with that tango in the top left, so it's up to him to finish the job off. I need to make sure I have both interior doorways well covered by GeoMitch and Antimatter, so I give them specific commands to ensure they surprise the other tango.
TrippyJing: WILL YOU HURRY UP ME AND THIS GUY ARE SHOOTING AT EACH OTHER OK
Okay, okay, here we go.
TrippyJing: *bumbumbum* Got him!
Those incoming shots felt too close, but Trippy got his man. GeoMitch and Antimatter move to their positions. Mitch reaches his quickly and waits, while Anti moves around the outside of the building and the VIPs keep tromping toward the exit.
Just as the turn is ending, the last remaining MG tango comes through the left interior doorway of the building. Mitch pulls the trigger like a boss, and...
Geomitch: *BL--
The turn ends with his killshot in midair.
GeoMitch: This. Is. Stupid.
Antimatter: Stupid that you're over there stealing my kill.
GeoMitch: Well, yeah. He's definitely dead. Don't bother changing the plan, Cap--that sniper is miles away and this guy in front of me is toast.
Whatever you say, guys. Here goes.
GeoMitch: *--AM* I told you.
Antimatter: These yellow jerks are almost at the exit. Looks like we made it.
GeoMitch: Good thing that sniper was kind of a mouth-breather.
Antimatter: Like he would have stood any kind of a chance against me.
TrippyJing: Anti, I don't know if you're going to make it through this game...
But at least these three did make it, this time.
Yup. More or less. For some missions.
Others, you control them.
Why I fear the ocean.
I will volunteer my meat torso for K to aim
lovin this
I'm honestly trying not to play this game at all except for the campaign missions, so it's all coming up as pretty new. I really have next to no idea what snipers can do, for example, although I'll admit I played as far as mission 3 before I started this Let's Play from the beginning (quickly wiped, like within 3 turns) and also had a near-instantaneous mission wipe the first time I played it for the LP (within 5 turns).
Anyway, if you're reading this thread and maybe enjoying it a little, can I get some feedback? Are you able to follow my train of thought from one turn to the next? Also, is it clear enough when I'm planning and when I'm actually initiating the outcome of each turn? I want to make sure this is as fun to follow as possible--though I've followed many myself, I've never done a Let's Play before, and the turn-based-but-also-real-time nature of Frozen Synapse makes me wonder if my posts are clear enough to really understand.
oh god i forgot how to do color there for a while
you can't tell from the youtube clips I'm uploading but holy shit the soundtrack to this game is absolutely incredible--I actually just paid $6 for it on Steam because I had it in my head at work all day
Destiny Profile : http://www.bungie.net/en/Profile/254/7028016
I've tried to label each turn's planning phase and results phase clearly in this episode. I think this is the format I'll stick with from here on.
Again, for the real-time clip of the mission results, scroll to the bottom.
Mission Start
TrippyJing: Looks like we're getting the band back together sooner than I thought.
GeoMitch: I still miss Smart Hero.
Antimatter: Whatever. That guy's kind of a trigger-happy tool anyway.
TrippyJing: ...
GeoMitch: ...
Indeed, it looks like my team consists of the same three pals as last episode. Antimatter (MG 1) is in the central east/west corridor, while GeoMitch (SG 2) and TrippyJing (MG 3) are down there in that southwestern room system.
GeoMitch: So what's the plan, Cap?
Turn 1 Plan
I'll have Anti move north, into that north/south corridor she's just around the corner from. She'll stop next to that "window" and check a couple of different lines of fire. If the enemy to her immediate east (enemy MG 1) moves north, she'll have a bead on him, and if he stays near his window aiming south, she won't offer a line of fire for him toward herself. (Using the V key with any unit or waypoint highlighted lets me check the visibility from any one point to another. I confirm that Anti will be safe at her final waypoint for this plan, if enemy MG 1 stands still.)
At the end of her move, Anti will aim northeast in case the northernmost tango comes around toward her.
GeoMitch will sprint toward enemy MG 1, checking briefly to the east as he enters the central east/west corridor. (You can see that I've given him a "check" command a little way into his move toward his last waypoint.) I've discovered that I can give potential plans to enemy units and test them out with my predictive simulation function. Testing several paths for GeoMitch, and for a big handful of places that enemy MG 1 can aim south from, I identify the placements for Mitch's second-to-last and last waypoints that seem to give him the advantage in a quickdraw situation, no matter how prepared enemy MG 1 is, or just avoid a confrontation this turn altogether.
Trippy starts too far away from any enemy to move in for a kill on turn 1. All I can do is have him move toward that window (pictured next to one of Mitch's waypoints) with some narrow lines of fire toward potential destinations for the two tangos south of the major east/west corridor. MG units move significantly more slowly than shotgunners, so I can't plan too far ahead with Trippy's move--at max speed, with no aim commands (which result in strafe movment) he won't even reach the window this turn.
GeoMitch: Ha! Maybe you should ease up on the Twinkies, slowpoke.
Trippy: You know this isn't even my real body, right?
Things look good here. At worst, I don't take down any tangos this turn. At best, I'll kill enemy MG 1 and MG 2. No matter how I plan out the enemies' potential movement, none of my team seem to be at risk.
GeoMitch: Here's where Smart Hero would say something about his lack of confidence in Captain K.
Antimatter: Whatever. I'm about to blow past that nerd with my kill total.
Turn 1 Result
No shots fired, but some stuff happens here that makes it necessary to start planning against all the enemies' moves. Enemy MG 1, instead of hanging out in the window below him, moves north a few steps and then aims south toward that window. Strange, but more importantly, it keeps him from being able to target GeoMitch. Also, his movement is so brief that he doesn't even enter the line of fire Antimatter controls from her brief check southeastward. Maybe I can move her north a bit and extend her viewing angle through that window southward enough to take out enemy MG 1.
The northmost MG 1 takes the ponderous route southwest, but he stops short of rounding a corner and waits out the end of the turn.
The two tangos to the southeast make moves toward the two areas I assumed I'd have to worry about: one (enemy MG 2) heads toward the main east/west corridor, and the other (enemy MG 3) heads toward the P-shaped building that Trippy is moving to cover.
AntiMatter: Hey Cap? Who's this yellow jerk?
Hmm. Good question. I didn't even notice him before.
GeoMitch: He seems to be on our side, since he didn't shoot me or Anti. Although he's not moving a whole lot. I don't know if we should count on him for anything.
Well, I wasn't, because I didn't even realize he was here before.
Antimatter: Anyway. That idea you were talking about? Where I keep aiming this way and back up a little and then fucking murder that dude next to me? That sounds good.
GeoMitch: As long as we're being cavalier about this, give me a chance too! I'm already headed toward that jerk and with this shotgun you know I've got a much faster trigger finger than he does.
Way ahead of you, guys.
Turn 2 Plan
This plan's actually really simple. The most complicated bits involve GeoMitch's move.
I want him to rush the window and potentially take out enemy MG 1. Once that's done, either way, he'll keep running north, through the doorway and eventually through another couple of doors. (You might notice a 90-degree turn in this plan, including a waypoint that seems unnecessary. I've added this extra movement in case enemy MG 4 comes down through those doorways from the north. In case he tries to draw a bead on Mitch as Mitch runs toward him, I want to make sure Mitch's path jukes to the side of the middle doorway for a brief instant. Breaking the enemy MG's line of sight, even for a tiny moment like that, will force him to "start over" with his aiming at Mitch, allowing Mitch to blast him quickly with the shotgun before the enemy can fire. Also, if the enemy MG does decide to move southwest through that doorway he's near, this puts Mitch in position to take him down halfway through Mitch's plan.)
GeoMitch: I almost believe you know what you're doing here.
I wish people would quit saying that.
TrippyJing: Hey, you finished two of these stupid things in a row without letting anyone die. I might be convinced myself.
GeoMitch: Don't forget that they weren't shooting back in one of those.
Antimatter: Whatever. Get on with it!
Okay. Anti's plan is very simple. She'll maintain her aim to her southeast and move north just a tiny bit. If enemy MG 1 stays still, she'll have a firing solution almost immediately into turn 2.
Trippy's plan is even simpler. He'll just finish the move I already had planned for him, which ends with him aiming to the east through that window just northeast of him. If either of those two enemies start moving toward the P-shaped building, Trippy will have an advantage.
Here goes!
Turn 2 Action
Enemy MG 1 does, in fact, stand motionless, aiming to the south, waiting for Mitch.
Antimatter: *bum* Thanks for playing.
Wow. One shot, one kill. Brutal.
Enemy MG 4, further to the north, does opt to move southwest through that doorway he was waiting near, and for a moment he tries to aim at Mitch through the window enemy MG 1 was covering. But Mitch's path jukes him through the doorway next to it, and enemy MG 4 loses his aim. Mitch bursts back into the tango's line of sight, but Mitch is only a short distance from shotgun engagement range, and the enemy is caught flat footed.
GeoMitch: *BLAM BLAM* Booyah!!
Trippy and enemy MG 2 actually have a couple of chances to aim at each other, at medium range and through a couple of windows. But Mitch's movement keeps attracting enemy MG 2's attention and the tango inches northward enough that he and Trippy can no longer aim at each other. Enemy MG 3 barely moves at all.
Yellow Dude doesn't do a whole lot. He just moves a couple of feet and stays in the corridor with Anti.
Also, a bunch of blue dudes are running around too? Hmm.
TrippyJing: I think we can ignore these blue guys even more than the yellow guy.
Antimatter: Red guys. Find me more red guys.
Turn 2 Result
We have two of those left. The problem is all the open space they can cover with their MGs. If they're aiming toward my team and holding still, they'll have an advantage over my guys as they move from behind cover. I'll have to hope they present themselves for attacks of opportunity. Given his movement last turn, enemy MG 2 seems to be the more likely to expose himself to danger, so I'll plan on that possibility.
Turn 3 Plan
Very simple plan. I'll just move Mitch south a bit to cover the doorway he just came through. Anti will keep aiming southeast--the acute angle she's aiming through her window means she actually threatens a section of the central east/west corridor. Basically, if enemy MG 2 decides to follow Mitch through the doorway Mitch just went through last turn, he's fucked. Either Anti will take him out before he reaches it, or Mitch will blast him from where he's camping the doorway.
Trippy's just going to stay right where he is. If either of these guys move into his field of fire he'll have a huge advantage, since's he's already aiming the right way and he's remained still for several seconds now (both things the game system takes into account when determining accuracy).
Turn 3 Result
Damn. Not much happened here, aside from the blue guys running away. Both tangos kept themselves from my fields of fire--enemy MG 2 just stood still in the central east/west corridor, and enemy MG 3 just moved briefly to the north.
Yellow Dude just south a bit to the corner.
Antimatter: Now what? I'm not thrilled about standing still here--I want red guys in my crosshairs.
I don't think much is going to happen unless I make some moves, so I'm with Anti on this.
Turn 4 Plan
Here you can see the result of turn 3--barely changed, as I said--and my plan for the next turn.
Basically, I'm focused on having Mitch take advantage of his movement speed and come around from the north of the two enemies. I'll also have Trippy move toward the central corridor, since covering his window doesn't seem like it will help much if the enemy just wants to camp. I'll have him wait before he rounds the corner, though, because I'd rather risk him and Mitch at the same time if I have to risk either of them. At least we'll ensure a kill that way.
GeoMitch: Seriously. Smart Hero would be busting you so hard right now.
Anti will continue covering her window, because if enemy MG 2 decides to move west in the corridor, he'll come into her crosshairs.
Antimatter: Good.
Okay, let's go.
Turn 4 Action
Yellow Dude moves into the central corridor and starts firing at enemy MG 2, who's been aiming toward Yellow Dude and not moving.
So, Yellow Dude's dead.
TrippyJing: Oh, man.
Antimatter: Drag.
Listen to my advice, jerk! Don't knowingly engage an enemy when they'll have an accuracy advantage!
Turn 4 Result
Aside from that, no other shots are fired. Mitch is moving around the north of enemy MG 2, and while Mitch briefly got his attention, he didn't have nearly enough time to take any shots. Trippy's waiting for my go to move into the corridor. Neither of the tangos even moved!
Turn 5 Plan
So here's what I'll do--I'll use all of my team at once to threaten the enemies, while minimizing their exposure.
TrippyJing: Ha! We'll see, I'm sure.
I start off by testing a lot of different potential moves for the two enemies. I want to have Mitch jump out from a corner, quickly blow away enemy MG 2, and then retreat behind the corner again before enemy MG 3 can get a bead on him. I adjust his waypoints to give him the briefest amount of exposure necessary to kill enemy MG 2, assuming that enemy stays motionless or moves east.
If he moves west, I've got some plans for him too. Antimatter will move south a bit, changing the angle she can aim southeast through the window and the doorway, and increase the zone she threatens in the central corridor. If enemy MG 2 moves west at all she'll be able to fire on him. (It's hard to see, but I also gave her a "wait" command after a bit of movement. I want her to aim southeast to cover MG 2's potential movement, but not forever--if he doesn't move west, the rest of her turn will be wasted. So, according to the plan, she'll wait at the window for a bit and then continue south toward the central east/west corridor where she can eventually join Trippy.)
Meanwhile, what about enemy MG 3? My tests show that he's the greatest danger to Mitch (which is why I plotted him an immediate escape route after his planned kill on MG 2). If enemy MG 3 decides to move north a bit, I want to threaten his path, so Trippy will emerge from his corner, strafing north as he aims east. If MG 3 moves north during this turn, Trippy will get a firing opportunity, and no matter how I test it, Trippy looks like he's going to survive for sure and get the kill maybe..
If you look closely at the plan, you'll see that I've actually instructed Mitch to ignore MG 3 and instructed Trippy to ignore MG 2. This seems nuts, but all my tests show that the greatest threat to any of my pals is MG 3 coming around a corner while they're distracted. Between Anti and Mitch it seems that MG 2's death is assured this turn, so I want Trippy to focus on the possibility that MG 3 moves forward into the central corridor.
Antimatter: God, would you shut the fuck up and get this thing moving?
Okay, okay!
Turn 5 Action
Mitch sprints southeast, preparing to round the corner. His path keeps giving MG 2 a glimpse of him, but the tango can't get a shot. Once Mitch pops around the corner, MG 2 tries to aim in earnest.
GeoMitch: *BLAM BLAM*
But it doesn't matter. MG 2's shot goes wide and Mitch serves him a buckshot sandwich.
GeoMitch: That's a terrible joke. But fuck that dude.
At the same time, Antimatter is firing--but not at MG 2, like I planned for, but at MG 3, who's moved north a tiny bit and barely exposed himself to her. Unfortunately, she hits the wall right in front of her a bunch of times and MG 3 moves west, out of immediate danger.
Antimatter: ...
Turn 5 Result
Okay, looks like we've just got this one last tango to take care of. I hate that he's camping where he is--there's not really any safe way for my MG units to approach him with an advantage. If he just decides to stay there, I'll need to have GeoMitch rush him around a corner and take him out with superior aiming speed.
But what if he decides to move north into the corridor or west into the P-shaped building?
Turn 6 Plan
I test a bunch of potential plans for my guys against a bunch of potential paths for the tango. If he moves into the P-shaped building with the intent of aiming west, he'll have an advantage over Trippy, who I want to move back down to the window to aim east. Instead of giving Trippy a suicide mission, I'll have him move down to that window and then crouch. He'll be in the right position, but out of danger, and I can give him updated commands next turn based on MG 3's movement.
Anti will move south and aim southeast just past the corner of the main corridor. She'll cover the path MG 3 might take into the corridor if he decides to move west, and she'll also be aiming at the window on the north wall of the P-shaped building. If MG 3 moves into the corridor, she'll have him, and if he moves into that P-shaped building toward Trippy, she'll get him through the window. I run a dozen tests on every path MG 3 might take and every time he exposes himself to Anti, she gets him in the simulation, regardless of whether he fires back or not.
Mitch will retrace his steps to the west, planning for the possibility that MG 3 remains motionless, which I mentioned above. I've made sure he'll ignore MG 3 for now--I don't want him to accidentally try to engage at maximum range against a pre-aiming MG 3, in the case that MG 3 behaves in such a way.
Antimatter: So basically you're saying that this turn is where I get another kill.
GeoMitch: Still gunning for the top spot, huh? I don't think it's gonna happen.
TrippyJing: You guys are really nuts. I'd rather make it through this alive than get any kills at all.
After exhaustive testing of every possibility, I'm ready to go.
Turn 6 Action
Everyone moves according to plan. MG 3 moves into the P-shaped building as I kind of expected. Trippy hops into position behind his window, catching MG 3's attention for a moment, but he crouches, breaking line of sight. Whew, good thing I planned that.
MG 3 heads west as Anti takes up her position aiming along his path. He moves into her line of sight and she opens fire.
Antimatter: *bumbumbum*
She's got the draw on MG 3 and should take him out easily, even though he returns fire after a moment.
Antimatter: *bumbum* *SPLATCH*
What? No!
TrippyJing: No!!
GeoMitch: What happened?! I can't see!!
The turn ends, freezing time, as Antimatter's body is halfway crumpled to the floor.
I can't even process what's just happened. MG 3 must have chosen the exact right path to give him an advantage over Anti, even though she was able to start firing much earlier than him. Was it the cover from the window? All my testing with the predictive simulation made it seem like that wasn't enough of a factor to matter!
TrippyJing: Let. Me. Shoot. Him.
Turn 7 Plan
Okay, you got it. Let's fucking end this dude.
Trippy will just stand up and aim at the guy. The simulation suggests Trippy will take him down in one shot. If, somehow, he survives Trippy's hail of bullets, Mitch will sprint in from the east and wreck him.
TrippyJing: Do it.
GeoMitch: Do it.
Do it.
Turn 7 Action
MG makes a move for the window he fired through last turn.
Trippy stands up.
TrippyJing: *bum*
MG 3 goes down.
Mitch comes around the corner, but it's all over already.
Mission Result
GeoMitch: ...
TrippyJing: Look, Cap, it wasn't your fault. Like you said, you tested it every which way.
GeoMitch: ...
TrippyJing: At least Smart Hero isn't here to make you feel like shit.
But I already do.
It'll get nastier. Fast.
Wait until you see the last mission of this set.
Why I fear the ocean.