I forgot to announce the results of the armor poll:
A (everyone): 1
B (need only): 0
C (need first): 5
D (officers only): 11
E (officers first): 7
F (Yeesh first): 1
Officers only it is then, soldiers will have to make it at least to the rank of ensign before being allowed any armor. I may change the minimum rank to able seaman depending on how things go.
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UPDATE 22 - Performance Evaluation
Last time, the Pacific team was getting ready to enter its very first mission.
The Triton landed very close to the alien sub. The team won't have to walk too far to assault, that's good because rookies have no stamina.
Proximity mines are thrown on the estimated position of the door. They work as well as usual.
Desmodus Rotundus finds a shadow in the distance. Rookie are too weak to throw a pulser in the general area. Snipers don't have a line of fire thanks to the rock formations everywhere. Desmodus Rotundus doesn't survive the next alien turn.
RIP Desmodus Rotundus II
, one less step could have save you.
Another alien is found moving around to the west.
Unkillable Cat gets ready to follow, but Juggernaut II stops him before he goes too far. The alien is waiting in ambush!
Golgepapaz Iki has a clear line of fire to Desmodus's killer. However, he must have heard stories of eklektyk, for he chooses to shoot Azael Jr. in the back instead.
Pulsers are thrown to the west and south, but so poorly that they land far from the aliens. Merk has to step up and throw one of his own. The first rookie pulser, as expected, doesn't do any damage to the alien.
Neither does the second one.
Merk's pulser kills the western alien.
And one miraculous good throw by Garfunkel takes care of the southern one.
Unkillable Cat explores the southwestern corner, and is ambushed by a gilman.
RIP Unkillable Cat II
, seven more lives to go before heaven.
Azael Jr. decides that steps will now cost 6 TUs instead of 4, and ends up with too few to make it to safety.
A patrolling gilman doesn't have mercy on the aquanaut. Azael Jr. is shot down.
RIP Azael Jr.
, your father would have been proud.
Garfunkel pursues the murderer, but falls prey to the same change of rules. He is short three TUs to attack, and can't even kneel in submission.
Without a sign of surrender, the gilman doesn't hesitate and shoots the soldier down.
Johannes finally ends this gilman's life.
He opens a door and finds another alien in the distance.
Trash II is killed by Unkillable Cat II's killer while trying to approach from the southeast.
He was carrying a primed pulser ready to be thrown...
RIP Trash II
, carrying a primed grenade will make it hard for cleanup to gather your corpse.
Juggernaut finds the lone sniper, but can't get any support. He takes the risk, and shoots the alien at point blank range. He hits.
Schluberlubs was getting ready to get in the sub from the other entrance, when a sonic pistol shot ends his attack prematurely.
RIP Schluberlubs
, may you find more glory in the world beyond.
During the alien turn, a gilman opens the door to Johannes and promptly runs away. Johannes pursues, and finds a gilman waiting for him. Thankfully, the alien had exhausted his TUs, so he can't fire at our brave soldier.
After killing the previous alien, Johannes continues his assault and finds the pistolier.
A pulser is thrown to the far end of the sub. It kills the gilman... and Johannes.
RIP Johannes
, kazgar's luck isn't for just anybody
This alien was the last, and the Pacific team's first mission ends.
No end mission result screen this time. We killed seven gilmen, but lost as many soldiers in the process. It's a good thing the rookie's first mission wasn't against lobstermen, or they would have been slaughtered.
Still, some among the new showed decent skill, and go up the ranks.
Reinforcements arrive soon after in Pacific-1. Some promising recruits there.
M.C. readers get available for use. It's an useful tool to identify priority targets for capture.
A Tasoth is interrogated. It doesn't have much to say, but still reveals some valuable information on M.C. chips. Research is started on a device to disrupt them.
A small sub is found in Atlantic.
Just as Barracuda-1 is about to reach it, the interceptor runs out of fuel. The aliens get away this time.
Another small sub shows up soon after.
No mercy for this one, it is shot down before it can get too far.
The aliens decide to taunt us and come back towards our base from the south. Barracuda-1 is too far to intercept, so the aliens get away once again.
As it is coming back from the latest pursuit, a Barracuda spots a touched down sub at the bottom of the ocean.
Triton-1 is rerouted from the latest shot sub to this one, and arrives before the aliens finish their business.
Gilmen. And in the same terrain the rookies had before. A perfect opportunity to compare soldier performance.
aRyan demonstrates proper shooting, and kills the first foe.
The sub is found to the east. A small one, but completely intact.
Gilmen move around during their turn, but are too tired to shoot.
Banelion ends the threat before it can recover.
Vlad the Impaler is killed by a hidden gilman.
RIP Vlad the Impaler
, you were so eager to use that drill of yours, but in the end didn't have any opportunity to do so.
The shooter is found swiftly, and justice is delivered by eklektyk in his favorite form.
Another alien is found to the east. Alexandro's recent promotion has earned him a suit of Ion Armor, so he feels quite safe.
He still asks for a grenade, and is thrown one that he relays right behind the gilman's feet.
Proximity Mines perform admirably well.
Alexandros gets cocky and charges the sub alone. He ends up face to face with two aliens, and only enough TUs to attack once. The Vibro Blade strike isn't enough to kill the gilman in front of him, better hope that armor is as good as scientists claim it is.
Instead of shooting down the easy target in front of them, the aliens run away! Alexandros pursues and kills the first one.
As he enters the northern room, he is shot on the side, the armor's weak point. He escapes unharmed, turns and kills the last alien of the mission.
A very similar mission to the previous one, but with much, much better results.
Pelvis Knot is rewarded for his efforts, even though soldiers can't help but wonder what exactly he did apart from going berserk in the Pacific team mission.