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In Progress A celebratory Let's Play of X-COM: UFO Defense, Superhuman Ironman
- Thread starter UncleJimb0
- Start date
Whisky
The Solution
I knew it was a bad idea to join after Cryssalids appeared...
Zombified twice in a row...
Zombified twice in a row...
Stereotypical Villain
Arcane
God damn it. I've spent the last three days playing X-COM and it's all your fault.
But hey, at least you keep killing me in awesome ways. Here's to another death-by-nuke.
But hey, at least you keep killing me in awesome ways. Here's to another death-by-nuke.
Hey, my clone survived ! The original got mercilessly slaughtered while trying to save lives like a idiot, but this one show promise - he sniped some xenos and even survived a frontal blast
Damn, it's making me want to play X-COM too !
Damn, it's making me want to play X-COM too !
Computer Gamer Refugee
Learned
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2012
- Messages
- 382
seriously I want to replay xcom again.
Is it worth trying to figure out a way to make my old disk work, or should I just pony up for the GoG version?
Is it worth trying to figure out a way to make my old disk work, or should I just pony up for the GoG version?
No GoG version. There is a steam version, that comes with DOSbox, though.
UncleJimb0
Educated
Sorry for impending delay...working the rest of the week and mandatory training will take up a lot of my free time. Expect the next update around Friday evening or Saturday morning.
Use this time to go play X-COM! Post screenshots!
Use this time to go play X-COM! Post screenshots!
Gondolin
Arcane
It was the... X-COM Slaughter.
If you use Win7, then disable the glass effects of Aero. You can also use Steam's built-in screenshot utility.
Stereotypical Villain
Arcane
I'm an old X-Com LP veteran, and I will have my rise to glory! No more nukes, no more shitty lucky shots from xeno scumbags! No! I shall revisit the glory I once knew as Big Nosed George's sidekick! I shall be the exterminator once more! Slap me in power armour first and give me a giant gun! I'm ready to kill!
Where is mah updatan ??? 
UncleJimb0
Educated
[Ok...work plus Oktoberfest = long post interval.]
Deitti: Edited. The recruit got your correct callsign.
So something bad happened to my game during a mission full of Fun(tm). I won't tantalize you with details of bloody goodness that will not come to pass, but a game-crashing bug occurred some time after the previous terror mission update. My most recent save was the beginning of July, before the terror mission occurred. The only thing I could think to do was to rename the rookie roster to reflect the squad and its replacements after the terror site, then play through July and engage UFOs with interceptors but not tackle anything on the ground. To make the month as uneventful as possible, I restarted the month when there was a base assault and again when an alien terror ship got through.
At this point in the game, the terror mission didn't happen (in this timeline) and therefore the kills and rank advancement gained by the team in that mission is no longer valid. As mentioned, however, the named team roster DOES reflect its state after the terror mission.
We can just pretend Command demoted everyone because NO CIVILIANS SURVIVED!!!
August begins.
X-COM has had more than its share of setbacks to this point,along with a grotesquely high body count, and it is evident that the aliens have established bases in North America and Antarctica. The United States has signed an alien treaty and withdrawn from the project. Alien terror sites have gone ignored, and the ones X-COM has dared to challenge have still resulted in high human casualties, civilian and operative alike. The largest UFOs still operate with impunity as X-COM craft cannot survive more than a moment in combat with them. Three times X-COM squads have been nearly wiped out.
Somehow, however, X-COM has thrived against these odds. We've recovered more than a dozen crashed UFOs and several intact ones.. Squads successfully assaulted an intact alien battleship and a terror ship on the ground. We repelled two determined base assaults, though not without terrible loss. Interceptors effectively shut down UFO activity over Europe and significant interception operations continue in North America and Asia. Scientists and engineers armed ground teams with advanced alien plasma, blaster bombs, personal armor, medkits, and stun bombs. Perhaps most importantly, we've captured aliens that are spilling their guts (before the autopsies) and we are figuring out the nature of the alien invaders plan.
The Skyranger go team.
This battleship cruises around Europe for a while, looking for EuroCOM presumably. Since the aliens have twice hit the base, Command is a little amazed that this UFO can't seem to find it.
Well, surprise surprise. Looks like the aliens have constructed a base in the good ol' USA. Looks like it might be in Missouri somewhere.
This will be a useful accessory when the time comes for us to find and capture an alien commander.
A UFO is detected on the ground in Easter Europe. Command dispatched the Skyranger immediately.
These Floaters put up a hell of a fight. Whisky III is killed on the ramp, and soldiers keep getting picked off as they sweep the exterior. The UFO entry goes smoothly, but 6 human corpses are strewn around the map before the mission ends.
Whisky III
Deiti II
K. Slips III
Ulminati III
Drog VII (pulling ahead!)
Helly II
Command notes the newest batch of Codexians have a very high casualty rate.
Geez. Swapping rookies for elerium. Their armor is expensive, though!
Alarms sound across the board as a large mixed UFO fleet appears over North America. Command is justifiably concerned; the last time a fleet this size moved in, we lost the USA and had an alien base built there. What are they up too, now? Interceptors bring down what they can before the UFOs land .
Not sure what they're up to...'renegotiating' their terms with the USA? While defending the US is not X-COM's priority at present, there are two landed battleships over there...and, according to intel, on board each of them is an alien commander.
Looks like some sacrifices are going to have to be made.
Here they are now.
Floaters. Best news in a while. Codexians deploy in a businesslike manner and eliminate evry floater they encounter outside the UFO.
The squad blasts half a dozen floaters on the outskirts of the map. Eklek weighs the benefits of preemptive blaster bomb strikes against the possibility of nuking the alien commander.
Blaster bomb carnage it is then. Several aliens die as Eklek clears the lift exterior.
Unfortunately, he's blown a hole in one of the doors. Memories of what blaster-bomb toting aliens can do with an open lift surface in Eklek III's mind, the only remaining survivor of that unmitigated clusterfuck of a battleship assault. Fighting down PTSD, he sends in the squad to try and rush the battleship command center
Assaulting a lift with potential b-bomb wielding aliens at the top is tricky business. If we space out and then move in, soldiers will likely die one at a time. If we bunch up and rush the joint together, then we are likely to see a screen something like--
Dammit. Pelvis Knot V is the first in gets nuked from up the lift somewhere. Other nearby soldiers were wounded, but still standing.
Pelvis Knot V. You led the charge.
The soldiers closest to the lift have to rush it now and hopefully make it close enough to the aliens with b-bombs to not get destroyed en masse. This could get a lot uglier in a minute.
What follows is the strangest encounter I have ever had on board an alien battleship. Up here on the command deck all of the floaters have panicked and thrown their weapons on the ground, including the b-bomb toting leaders. Stun bombs are advanced up the lift to clean up.
The use of to b-bombs under the belly of the UFO has torn out a huge chunk of the lower deck, complicating maneuvers.
While squaddies are busy upstairs chasing down unarmed command staff, others perform a quick sweep of the lower decks and eliminate any resistance.
We've knocked several floaters down with stun bombs without finding a commander. Then, out of nowhere, an alien pops around the corner and blasts Lightbane.
Lightbane VII. Tied with Drog.
This has to be the commander!
Azira stuns the alien and the mission ends.
Can it be?
Deitti: Edited. The recruit got your correct callsign.
So something bad happened to my game during a mission full of Fun(tm). I won't tantalize you with details of bloody goodness that will not come to pass, but a game-crashing bug occurred some time after the previous terror mission update. My most recent save was the beginning of July, before the terror mission occurred. The only thing I could think to do was to rename the rookie roster to reflect the squad and its replacements after the terror site, then play through July and engage UFOs with interceptors but not tackle anything on the ground. To make the month as uneventful as possible, I restarted the month when there was a base assault and again when an alien terror ship got through.
At this point in the game, the terror mission didn't happen (in this timeline) and therefore the kills and rank advancement gained by the team in that mission is no longer valid. As mentioned, however, the named team roster DOES reflect its state after the terror mission.
We can just pretend Command demoted everyone because NO CIVILIANS SURVIVED!!!
August begins.
X-COM has had more than its share of setbacks to this point,along with a grotesquely high body count, and it is evident that the aliens have established bases in North America and Antarctica. The United States has signed an alien treaty and withdrawn from the project. Alien terror sites have gone ignored, and the ones X-COM has dared to challenge have still resulted in high human casualties, civilian and operative alike. The largest UFOs still operate with impunity as X-COM craft cannot survive more than a moment in combat with them. Three times X-COM squads have been nearly wiped out.
Somehow, however, X-COM has thrived against these odds. We've recovered more than a dozen crashed UFOs and several intact ones.. Squads successfully assaulted an intact alien battleship and a terror ship on the ground. We repelled two determined base assaults, though not without terrible loss. Interceptors effectively shut down UFO activity over Europe and significant interception operations continue in North America and Asia. Scientists and engineers armed ground teams with advanced alien plasma, blaster bombs, personal armor, medkits, and stun bombs. Perhaps most importantly, we've captured aliens that are spilling their guts (before the autopsies) and we are figuring out the nature of the alien invaders plan.
The Skyranger go team.
This battleship cruises around Europe for a while, looking for EuroCOM presumably. Since the aliens have twice hit the base, Command is a little amazed that this UFO can't seem to find it.
Well, surprise surprise. Looks like the aliens have constructed a base in the good ol' USA. Looks like it might be in Missouri somewhere.
This will be a useful accessory when the time comes for us to find and capture an alien commander.
A UFO is detected on the ground in Easter Europe. Command dispatched the Skyranger immediately.
These Floaters put up a hell of a fight. Whisky III is killed on the ramp, and soldiers keep getting picked off as they sweep the exterior. The UFO entry goes smoothly, but 6 human corpses are strewn around the map before the mission ends.
Whisky IIIDeiti IIK. Slips IIIUlminati IIIDrog VII (pulling ahead!)Helly IICommand notes the newest batch of Codexians have a very high casualty rate.
Geez. Swapping rookies for elerium. Their armor is expensive, though!
Alarms sound across the board as a large mixed UFO fleet appears over North America. Command is justifiably concerned; the last time a fleet this size moved in, we lost the USA and had an alien base built there. What are they up too, now? Interceptors bring down what they can before the UFOs land .
Not sure what they're up to...'renegotiating' their terms with the USA? While defending the US is not X-COM's priority at present, there are two landed battleships over there...and, according to intel, on board each of them is an alien commander.
Looks like some sacrifices are going to have to be made.
Here they are now.
Floaters. Best news in a while. Codexians deploy in a businesslike manner and eliminate evry floater they encounter outside the UFO.
The squad blasts half a dozen floaters on the outskirts of the map. Eklek weighs the benefits of preemptive blaster bomb strikes against the possibility of nuking the alien commander.
Blaster bomb carnage it is then. Several aliens die as Eklek clears the lift exterior.
Unfortunately, he's blown a hole in one of the doors. Memories of what blaster-bomb toting aliens can do with an open lift surface in Eklek III's mind, the only remaining survivor of that unmitigated clusterfuck of a battleship assault. Fighting down PTSD, he sends in the squad to try and rush the battleship command center
Assaulting a lift with potential b-bomb wielding aliens at the top is tricky business. If we space out and then move in, soldiers will likely die one at a time. If we bunch up and rush the joint together, then we are likely to see a screen something like--
Dammit. Pelvis Knot V is the first in gets nuked from up the lift somewhere. Other nearby soldiers were wounded, but still standing.
Pelvis Knot V. You led the charge.The soldiers closest to the lift have to rush it now and hopefully make it close enough to the aliens with b-bombs to not get destroyed en masse. This could get a lot uglier in a minute.
What follows is the strangest encounter I have ever had on board an alien battleship. Up here on the command deck all of the floaters have panicked and thrown their weapons on the ground, including the b-bomb toting leaders. Stun bombs are advanced up the lift to clean up.
The use of to b-bombs under the belly of the UFO has torn out a huge chunk of the lower deck, complicating maneuvers.
While squaddies are busy upstairs chasing down unarmed command staff, others perform a quick sweep of the lower decks and eliminate any resistance.
We've knocked several floaters down with stun bombs without finding a commander. Then, out of nowhere, an alien pops around the corner and blasts Lightbane.
Lightbane VII. Tied with Drog.This has to be the commander!
Azira stuns the alien and the mission ends.
Can it be?
Stereotypical Villain
Arcane
I want to sign up as Stereotypical Villain this time around. Perhaps that'll give me some more luck...
Gondolin
Arcane
Only two operatives dead? Laaaaame. 
Kashmir Slippers
Magister
Glad to see an update. The 'Dex was all the darker in your absence.
Yeah, really neat stuff Wish my own UFO LP would have turned out as well as yours. Damn that research bug :/
Is there any chance of you posting a roster of X-COM's troopers?
Wish my own UFO LP would have turned out as well as yours. Damn that research bug :/Is there any chance of you posting a roster of X-COM's troopers?
Pope Amole II
Nerd Commando Game Studios
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2012
- Messages
- 2,052
But this LP is totally about killing everything, so what were you expecting?
UncleJimb0
Educated
New month, new callsignments.
Please welcome back...
Pelvis Knot VI
Whisky IV
Deiti III
K. Slips IV
Ulminati IV
Drog VIII
Helly III
Lightbane VIII
Command plans massive expansions to the AntartiCOM Fortress of Solitude. We have 70 or so engineers and 50 scientists working here and 26 rooks guarding them. All our alien prisoners and most of the tech we need to research is stored here.
What could go wrong?
...
It appears the aliens have their own little ace in the hole somewhere.
These are the only guys that have more than 2 missions under their belt. Wonder how the recruiters have to pitch that. "So, Mr. Drog the VIII....where are 1-7?"
This is a problem. My squads have the best weapons and decent armor, but their stats need serious improvement. Carrying a green squad into a major base assault where they WILL sustain casualties, even amongst the Colonels and even Commander, might be a disaster later on. So we are gonna start landing at small crashes again to grind out some soldier experience.
Minor casaulties on this UFO recovery. Can you guess who is one of them?
Ulminati IV, of course! Those Mutons really pack 'em in, don't they?
Drog VIII was killed stepping off the ramp. Way to take the lead!
Because casualties are so high, I have mostly abandoned my earlier practice of not renaming anyone until the new month, so welcome back...
Drog IX
Ulminati V
This battleship lands in Florida...the Skyranger is dispatched, but when the squad arrives it is nighttime. Abort!
I'm pretty sure I haven't played a single night mission in this LP...sight radius advantage is a huge force multiplier for the aliens.
The team lands and recovers another Muton UFO crash....
...without incident! I think this is only the second or third mission where nobody dies so far.
These small wrecks really aren't worth it, but my green squad of Codex clones is getting some valuable experience.
Patrolling the area where the battleship landed reveals an alien base in...Disney World? We might have to pay them a visit...but only in the off season.
Interceptors knock down a Terror Ship over Europe and the squad lands to mop up.
Azira's not dead, don't worry! The Floater had stun bombs!
Up to this turn we have wiped the floor with them. Zero casualties.
But these damn murder holes are a gift that just keeps on giving, Reapers and floaters pour out of the second deck and swarm the entry teams.
Ace Flasheart III. You have the distinction to be the first X-COM soldier ever eaten by a Reaper.
Deitti III. You lost a shootout with the floater that ambushed your squad from the murder hole.
Pelvis Knot VI. That was one badass floater.
Ulminati kills it and ends the mission.
I think that's enough 'training' for now. We only have a few rookie Codexiers....and somebody has to dismount the Skyranger first.
Also, welcome back:
Ace Flasheart IV.
Deitti IV.
Pelvis Knot VII.
Finally, something that can withstand more than a single hit from a battleship...this one might be good for 4! They are so fast though. The only downside to the new craft is that they require Elerium....but you don't have to lease them.
Let's see what this one knows.
That was quick.
Why, Canada, why? Everyone I know from up there takes PRIDE in not following the USA's lead?
Ruh-roh. EVERYTHING IS HERE. The R&D, the UFO parts, the spare weapons, the hydroponics labs...it's all on the line now. Losing this base will set me back probably 10 million creds and God only knows how many UFO recoveries as well as the time to set a new R&D utopia up. Assuming the escalating alien attacks don't sink me.
I'm kind of excited about this fight...I have 26 well-armed rooks. As long as its not mind-control Ethereals I'm prolly good. No Codexiers here so I plan to just do a montage of Fun(tm).
I'm down to 3 soldiers at the end....at least as many Mutons. I start planning the next month of LP trying to progress this far again. The alien turn begins....
W.
T.
F.
Not really sure how to feel about this one...I'm pretty sure I was about to lose. This is the second base assault that's crapped out on me. Oh well. This is why I've started and not finished so many X-COM games since Windows XP; the emulators are always screwing it up. Until today I would have told you that Steam's was the best-configured DOSBox I've used. Not so sure about it now.
Well, I've got an LP to finish and I'm sure as hell not starting over.
Since I have to do this again, I should be able to prepare some new toys in the 4-8 days I have to get ready for them, right?
And, of course, they do attack again. I guess the AI has decided that this base must fall. I am extremely interested if anybody out there has any solid info on how the X-COM strategic alien AI is programmed. ...???
I'm playing Ironman. I get it. But the game bugging out and throwing me back in time so often surely deserves at least this concession. I am going to start saving my game every few turns/days and just not reload unless it crashes.
FINALLY. This took more than a reload or two. Epic slaughter.
The Not-Codex. Who are they, I wonder? BSN? Something Awful? Reddit?
More soldiers are ordered up just in case, another Hovertank is cranked out, and X-COM goes about its business.
All right, now lets get on with this...I can probably be in Cydonia by the evening--
Quickly followed by another:
...do it for all the kiddies that will never know X-COM, Jimbo. Do it for Drog.
..another goddamn reload...
...just for good measure, in addition to the Hovertanks I go ahead and start another safehouse, this one in New Zealand (the only place more out of the way than Antarctica.)
Right on schedule.
We need a montage:
Good news! I haven't kicked a puppy or punched a window as a result of this update yet! That's two Muton base assaults in less than a week.
Anywhere is better than AntarctiCOM.
I haven't decided whether I'm going to even use these yet.
...and that's it for now. Not even out of September.
Please welcome back...
Pelvis Knot VIWhisky IVDeiti IIIK. Slips IVUlminati IVDrog VIII Helly IIILightbane VIIICommand plans massive expansions to the AntartiCOM Fortress of Solitude. We have 70 or so engineers and 50 scientists working here and 26 rooks guarding them. All our alien prisoners and most of the tech we need to research is stored here.
What could go wrong?
...
It appears the aliens have their own little ace in the hole somewhere.
These are the only guys that have more than 2 missions under their belt. Wonder how the recruiters have to pitch that. "So, Mr. Drog the VIII....where are 1-7?"
This is a problem. My squads have the best weapons and decent armor, but their stats need serious improvement. Carrying a green squad into a major base assault where they WILL sustain casualties, even amongst the Colonels and even Commander, might be a disaster later on. So we are gonna start landing at small crashes again to grind out some soldier experience.
Minor casaulties on this UFO recovery. Can you guess who is one of them?
Ulminati IV, of course! Those Mutons really pack 'em in, don't they?Drog VIII was killed stepping off the ramp. Way to take the lead!Because casualties are so high, I have mostly abandoned my earlier practice of not renaming anyone until the new month, so welcome back...
Drog IXUlminati VThis battleship lands in Florida...the Skyranger is dispatched, but when the squad arrives it is nighttime. Abort!
I'm pretty sure I haven't played a single night mission in this LP...sight radius advantage is a huge force multiplier for the aliens.
The team lands and recovers another Muton UFO crash....
...without incident! I think this is only the second or third mission where nobody dies so far.
These small wrecks really aren't worth it, but my green squad of Codex clones is getting some valuable experience.
Patrolling the area where the battleship landed reveals an alien base in...Disney World? We might have to pay them a visit...but only in the off season.
Interceptors knock down a Terror Ship over Europe and the squad lands to mop up.
Azira's not dead, don't worry! The Floater had stun bombs!
Up to this turn we have wiped the floor with them. Zero casualties.
But these damn murder holes are a gift that just keeps on giving, Reapers and floaters pour out of the second deck and swarm the entry teams.
Ace Flasheart III. You have the distinction to be the first X-COM soldier ever eaten by a Reaper.Deitti III. You lost a shootout with the floater that ambushed your squad from the murder hole.Pelvis Knot VI. That was one badass floater. Ulminati kills it and ends the mission.
I think that's enough 'training' for now. We only have a few rookie Codexiers....and somebody has to dismount the Skyranger first.
Also, welcome back:
Ace Flasheart IV.Deitti IV.Pelvis Knot VII.Finally, something that can withstand more than a single hit from a battleship...this one might be good for 4! They are so fast though. The only downside to the new craft is that they require Elerium....but you don't have to lease them.
Let's see what this one knows.
That was quick.
Why, Canada, why? Everyone I know from up there takes PRIDE in not following the USA's lead?
Ruh-roh. EVERYTHING IS HERE. The R&D, the UFO parts, the spare weapons, the hydroponics labs...it's all on the line now. Losing this base will set me back probably 10 million creds and God only knows how many UFO recoveries as well as the time to set a new R&D utopia up. Assuming the escalating alien attacks don't sink me.
I'm kind of excited about this fight...I have 26 well-armed rooks. As long as its not mind-control Ethereals I'm prolly good. No Codexiers here so I plan to just do a montage of Fun(tm).
I'm down to 3 soldiers at the end....at least as many Mutons. I start planning the next month of LP trying to progress this far again. The alien turn begins....
W.
T.
F.
Not really sure how to feel about this one...I'm pretty sure I was about to lose. This is the second base assault that's crapped out on me. Oh well. This is why I've started and not finished so many X-COM games since Windows XP; the emulators are always screwing it up. Until today I would have told you that Steam's was the best-configured DOSBox I've used. Not so sure about it now.
Well, I've got an LP to finish and I'm sure as hell not starting over.
Since I have to do this again, I should be able to prepare some new toys in the 4-8 days I have to get ready for them, right?
And, of course, they do attack again. I guess the AI has decided that this base must fall. I am extremely interested if anybody out there has any solid info on how the X-COM strategic alien AI is programmed. ...???
I'm playing Ironman. I get it. But the game bugging out and throwing me back in time so often surely deserves at least this concession. I am going to start saving my game every few turns/days and just not reload unless it crashes.
FINALLY. This took more than a reload or two. Epic slaughter.
The Not-Codex. Who are they, I wonder? BSN? Something Awful? Reddit?
More soldiers are ordered up just in case, another Hovertank is cranked out, and X-COM goes about its business.
All right, now lets get on with this...I can probably be in Cydonia by the evening--
Quickly followed by another:
...do it for all the kiddies that will never know X-COM, Jimbo. Do it for Drog.
..another goddamn reload...
...just for good measure, in addition to the Hovertanks I go ahead and start another safehouse, this one in New Zealand (the only place more out of the way than Antarctica.)
Right on schedule.
We need a montage:
Good news! I haven't kicked a puppy or punched a window as a result of this update yet! That's two Muton base assaults in less than a week.
Anywhere is better than AntarctiCOM.
I haven't decided whether I'm going to even use these yet.
...and that's it for now. Not even out of September.
UncleJimb0
Educated
If you use the UFO Loader, you do not use DOSBox.
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