Fenn Vs X-COM

[rho21]

Yes, any time XCOM is called out is a bad, bad day for property insurance companies.

I'm pretty sure they have an exclusion clause for that nowadays.

Fenn: Feel free to add me to the roster, btw.

[Fenn]

To me, smoke grenades are so nice because with how most aliens have superior Reactions and TUs, being able to control their vision to some extent makes a big difference. It helps out spotters too - you can look for aliens on your turn, then drop a smoke grenade so they can't find you on theirs. On most missions I like to split up the squad into two or three separate groups and go in opposite directions around the map. That way you're less likely to miss any aliens and can even pincer them if the angles are good.

rho, you'll be in the mission after next. Might not get to the next mission today, but it's going to be a doozy.

[RefSteel]

"Man, my strategy of screaming like a terrified howler monkey whenever I see an alien is working great! Even when I don't see 'em, they keep missing their shots, and my squadmates immediately know where the problem is!" --RefSteel clone 1, mid-battle

"There can't possibly be any downside to alerting the entire county to my exact location every few seconds, right?" --RefSteel clone 1, last words

[Fenn]

Sorry for the delay folks, real life took its toll.

Part 9.1 - Kinshasa Terror

Soon after the raid on the Medium UFO, two research topics complete:


First is Personal Armor. It's a great improvement over the default armor, which tops out at about 12. Needless to say, the engineering department gets started on a few dozen.


Back to weapons. The Heavy Laser would be helpful to have on hand against well-armored aliens.


Interviewing the Sectoid Navigator gives us some concerning facts about Sectoids...


...But more importantly, opens up two crucial research topics. Alien Origins leads on to the endgame research, while Hyperwave Decoders are a huge leap forward in UFO detection; we'll get there eventually. For now the 24 spare scientists continue by studying the alien Plasma Rifles.


Canada's Living Quarters complete, and so it receives a tank and complement of defenders. Any base can get attacked on Superhuman, not just as a result of shooting down lots of UFOs, so we need to protect these places.


A third UFO shows up in Iceland. Why Iceland? I don't know. This one gets away scot-free.

A day later, radar technicians raise an alarm. An even more monstrously large UFO has entered the skies over Europe:


Colonel DaveV hurriedly confers with the base staf. There's no way X-COM's Interceptors can stand a chance against this, but perhaps they can tail it to a landing site and let a strike team storm it.


The ship loiters over Spain, but turns north as the Interceptor approaches.


It pauses over Scandinavia, then suddenly accelerates to five thousand knots and leaves the chasing Interceptor in the dust. Ominous.

X-COM waits a few days, but there's no more sign of the ship. Instead:

Back into the thick of things with another terror mission.


With AdrienIer still recuperating, Dp101 and the latest batch of clones join in. Only two Personal Armors have been finished so far; priority goes towards our ranking officers Colonel DaveV and Captain El Grillo.


We'll be arriving in the dead of night. That's not ideal, but there's no turning back - the men and women X-COM has a sworn duty to save the the victims of alien aggression.

That's what all our explosives are for.


It had to happen someday. So, Cyberdiscs. Here's an introduction: they're big flying robots that shoot our guys, and I don't like them very much.


For instance: this one survives a direct hit from a rocket and shoots up our tank, who is very to have survived that. Trying to move the tank down the ramp to give our troops a line of fire only reveals a second Cyberdisc. I guess we'll be hiding in the smoke for the first turn...


Or will we? El Grillo manages to throw a flare out, which gives me an idea. Dreylin primes a High Explosive and throws it to El Grillo, who passes it to Quagma Blast:


Quagma Blast picks it up...


And makes the perfect throw, right underneath the Cyberdisc. One down. Some smoke grenades go off in the Skyranger's cabin - maybe it'll fool the Cyberdiscs.


During the alien turn about six civilians die. Better them than us. The second turn opens to this:


Very funny, Mr. Cyberdisc...

The tank tries firing a rocket off to the side but it doesn't do much except tear up some dirt. With the exit blocked, there's nothing to do but prime anothe high explosive and hope for the best; Dp101 throws it as far from the Skyranger as he can manage.

That works - the Cyberdisc dies and nobody else does. Now the squad can finally move out, on Turn 3.


No time to rest though, there's aleady another disc in that parking lot. The tank can't get an angle, so it's time for another High Explosive courtesy of Dp101:



Quagma Blast picks up the explosive and throws it on the road under the Cyberdisc, then ducks by the flimsy wooden barrier. Maybe it'll help.


Just to make sure, DaveV tries shooting at the Cyberdisc. He doesn't manage a hit, but one of his shots blows away the fence, revealing a terrifying sight:


Another Cyberdisc! And a Sectoid! And Dp101 can't prepare another High Explosive!


First off, DaveV blasts the Sectoid and moves away to let Lewwyn to take his spot.


Lewwyn shreds the asphalt, wooden fence and storefront but, but the Cyberdisc itself remains unhappily unexploded.


In the end, it's the new and improved Bobchillingworth who manages it. The Cyberdisc's death throes kill a civilian, but it's well worth the cost.


RefSteel and Molach take some auto-shots at the remaining enemy but only manage a couple of hits. It's a good the high explosive manages to down it on the interturn or that Cyberdisc could have wreaked havoc on this clump of soldiers.

A lot of action just in these first three turns, but so far the RB Team has avoided casualties. Will their luck hold?

[Fenn]

Part 9.2 - March of the Cyberdiscs

Turn 4 sees a Cyberdisc wander over to where the last one perished, and right within Molach's sights.


An auto-burst later, and that's another Cyberdisc down. If it weren't for Laser weapons there would be no way to shoot down Cyberdiscs like this; they simply shrug off normal bullets.


The tank runs into a Sectoid making a house call. That's a little too close to be firing rockets, so Bobchillingworth lobs a frag at his feet instead.


Peeking around the fence reveals a Sectoid and Cyberdisc poised to vaporize some innocent bystanders.


A rocket next to the Cyberdisc chews up another building and hopefully damages the robot. This part of the map is starting to resemble the Moon with all the craters and pockmarks.


Another frag grenade goes to the parking lot Sectoid. Now to finish off that no-doubt weakened Cyberdisc. Maybe Dp101 can step out and lend a hand?


It takes him two auto-bursts to land a hit, but Dp101 pulls through in the end.


Some maneuvering later, and Turn 4 comes to a close, and both Sectoids go up in smoke.


There's always more where that came from, though - Quagma Blast would have been killed by this sneaky Sectoid if his aim was any good. As it is, Dp101's Laser Rifle is enough to handle him.


He can't quite handle this other Sectoid the tank ran into, but humorously one of his missed shots ends up killing another alien out in the fog. Way to go! RefSteel gets the visible one with a single aimed shot.


Bobchillingworth primed a frag last turn, and this distant Sectoid makes the perfect target.


Yet another Sectoid in this store. El Grillo seems to have a clear opportunity, but, defying logic and probability, misses a 111% shot.


Lewwyn's rocket goes wide too, but he takes a page from Dp101's book and blows up two Sectoids off in the distance. Handy, but we're running out of soldiers who can act so Dreylin just tosses a primed High Explosive he's been carrying around.

During the alien turn a three-shot burst is heard somewhere, but otherwise nothing happens. Are the aliens running out of troops?


Would you look at that! A panicked Sectoid. Maybe RefSteel can run over and stun him.


Figuring the battle is almost finished, the RBers spread out to search for the remaining Sectoids. There's still a few with their wits - like this one that tries to shoot the tank. Molach has a handle on it.


Another armed Sectoid is hanging out in this courtyard. Lewwyn goes for a shot but can't quite land a rocket close enough to kill; he'll have to wait until next turn.


On turn 7, RefSteel runs up and jabs the Sectoid from before. Which is where everything goes horribly wrong. The Sectoid doesn't fall unconscious. Dp101 shoots at him but misses a whole lot. DaveV drills him twice with his Laser Pistol, but he survives both shots unscathed. Molach, still crouching near the Skyranger, tries an Aimed shot of his own.


Not exactly who you were supposed to hit, Molach. RefSteel is once again flattened by a shot to the back.


Finally, El Grillo puts the immortal Sectoid in the ground. If he had missed this shot too I probably would have fired him on the spot.


Here's the Sectoid from the courtyard - he's panicked and dropped his weapon, allowing us to capture him at our leisure. The tank will keep him company (and trap him in that alleyway) until then.


While that comedy of errors is going on, haphazard and Dreylin have had a relaxing time checking the houses for Sectoids.


No time to mourn RefSteel; Dp101 will just pry the Stun Rod from his dead fingers and move on.


Dreylin tries to ambush the unarmed Sectoid from the south, and finds a rude surprise instead: a live Cyberdisc lurking in the last unchecked corner of the map. He doesn't have enough energy to run for cover and nobody can get close enough to shoot, so haphazard throws a smoke grenade in front of him.


The smoke works, and Dreylin lives, but now we can't see the Cyberdisc. The tank can't find it in the courtyard or to the east, so Quagma Blast sends a hopeful rocket down the alley:


Sure enough, the Cyberdisc was in the way. Quagma's rocket puts it out of commission for good. Perhaps Dp101 can stun that Sectoid?


Don't be ridiculous - there's always another Cyberdisc. Molach drills it with five Laser Rifle shots, but it's still holding up.


El Grillo's sniper bullet tips it over the edge.


Dp101 stuns the Sectoid, ends the turn and...nothing happens. What more could there be?


Another Cyberdisc, of course. They certainly like to sneak about. Molach takes a few potshots at it from afar, and everyone else moves closer to try and get a shot.


A turn passes, the Cyberdisc remains in an awkward position where almost nobody can take a shot. Dp101 has enough TUs to fire at it from the south end, so he tries for an auto-shot and -


Destroys it in one go? Er, nice shooting Dp.


At this point, I ended the turn prematurely with a bunch of agents out in the open, sure that this time was the end. Well, it wasn't. Another Cyberdisc started approaching from the north edge of the map; right when my heart started to sink Lewwyn spun around 90 degrees, fired a pinpoint rocket from halfway across the map, and scrapped the Cyberdisc instantly.


Sometimes, you do get lucky.


A round of promotions handed out for a job well done. Quagma Blast II makes Colonel for his precision rocketeering, and DaveV ascends to become Commander of the X-COM project - congratulations! Unfortunately this position grants no actual authority, but it's definitely prestigious.

The rest of March passes uneventfully. A base is built in Australia for the sole purpose of housing a Large Radar; the Sectoid autopsy finishes (took them long enough, didn't that start back in February?); the Hangar and Radar installation in the China base complete.

The council is pleased as well, handing over an extra $700,000 a month. Things are looking up!

[Dp101]

Nice reporting! Glad to see I haven't shot any of my friends yet, and shocked to see a rocket reaction shot not backfire horribly. How many rocket launchers and high explosives did you bring?

[DaveV]

DaveV ascends to become Commander of the X-COM project - congratulations! Unfortunately this position grants no actual authority, but it's definitely prestigious.

Note that the Commander job includes a cool pair of shades.

[Fenn]

Nice reporting! Glad to see I haven't shot any of my friends yet, and shocked to see a rocket reaction shot not backfire horribly. How many rocket launchers and high explosives did you bring?

This being a terror mission, I took two rocket launchers plus the rocket tank, and about eight high explosives. I find that's the best way to handle terror missions, just blow up everything in your way as quickly as possible.

And thank you. If there's anything people want to see more/less of, let me know. The nitty-gritty of managing my bases is something I'm leaving out of the regular updates now, but I'll do a strategic overview soon to give an idea of where we're at and where we're going from here.

[RefSteel]

"I have a good feeling about this time around.  Look at me, taking down an alien from range in one shot!  Oh, man, and look at that hapless sectoid running around without a gun!  Check it out guys, I'm taking him captive!"

...

"Uh, guys, he's not going down!  Oh no, helllllllllllllllllp!!!  Shoot him!  Shoot him!!!"

...

"Or, wait, do I want them to shoot this way when I'm standing right..." (last words)

If there's anything people want to see more/less of, let me know.

All I can say is that your reports are fantastic; I'm already looking forward to the next installment.

[haphazard1]

Add me to the list of those enjoying the reports. Very nice work on these!

Another XCOM outing, another town utterly leveled. The people of Kinshasa might have preferred taking their chances with the alien invaders.... Wait, the report says one civilian was saved -- I guess that is better than nothing. Slightly.