In Progress A celebratory Let's Play of X-COM: UFO Defense, Superhuman Ironman

[Lindblum]

Gen IX already? They die so fast~

 

[Deitti]

aww and third clone already survived two missions atleast. ohwell atleast he died in a shootout eager to see what fourth will be able to do.

 

[Whisky]

Holy shit I didn't die once this time!

 

[UncleJimb0]

USA and Canada have already declared their independence from Earth and thrown in with the aliens; now, the ETs are having their way with Brasilia. X-COM will not allow this. It looks like we iwll hit this terror site in the morning...the Skyranger pilot makes plans to fly in with the sun rising at our backs and scourge the beleaguered city of its invaders or some other romantic horseshit.
This is how it actually breaks down.

The go-team has been 'eagerly' awaiting this moment.



YAY!
It's Ethereals, everyone! If you don't know, they're the most psionic of the aliens. In order to research psi tech you have to either capture a Sectoid Leader or Commander, or any Ethereal of any rank.
It's going to be so awesome to capture one of these guys, kill his buddies (and Sectopods) and win the mission.

Stun bombs are advanced and we hit the closest Ethereal with two...it stays up.

Deitti gets blasted by one of its buddies as he dismounts the ramp.
Deitti IV. There are worse things than death.

Looks like this drop site requires sterilization. Ess Vee obliges.

Oh, good! We are already learning so much about psionics from the Ethereals. They teach Lightbane and Drog about alien mind control.

It's very apparent that this mission just got classified a Class Five Clusterfuck. The mind controlled soldiers are currently outside the skyranger. The only way to salvage this is to capture at least one Ethereal before I have to retreat. Rtard stuns the target Ethereal with a stun bomb and Ulminati moves out to grab it so we can go--
Reaction fire from Drog or Lightbane cuts him down. When K. Slips goes out to put them down so we can get the damn alien and run, he too is killed.
Drog IX. The aliens didn't get you this time.
K. Slips IV. Usually when you're shot by a buddy its an accident.
Too many soldiers are off the ship for Command to give the abort order yet...

Panic ensues as Lightbane and Drog are mind contolled again. Also, Helly joins the alien ranls
Well, at least (mind control) Lightbane got back on the Skyranger. Then he guns down Ess Vee and Whisky and badly wounds Azira.
Ace Flasheart and Ulminati die under a hail of plasma fire outside.
Ess Vee III.
Whisky IV.
Ace Flasheart IV.
Ulminati IV.
You participated in perhaps my most immediate brutal defeat in this game, ever. You win!

At least they can't MC you now, Azira.

We made it real far into this one, eh?

IDtenT and Brazi Slaughter have been shielded so far by their comrades bodies. Fuck it. Pelvis Knot is outside...fuck him too. The tantalizing stunned Ethereal? Fucked it last turn.

Nothing like this screen to warm your innards.

I guess wounded soldiers get extracted. Gratz Azira.
Pelvis Knot VI. Maybe Brazi, Azira, or IDtenT will name a baby after you or something.

Drog IX. Hope you enjoy life with your new alien masters.
Helly III. Same to you.
Lightbane VIII. Not you you little Skyranger-massacring shit. I hope they make you into a perpetual probe experiment.
[Note: Had this been anything but an LP with elevated expectations of mass slaughter, I would have aborted this mission when I saw the first Ethereal. It seemed wrong to flee from a new alien sighting when ya'll are depending on me to die horribly deliver. I generally only tangle with Ethereals on small UFO recoveries or when I have to defend my bases.]

Geez. It's amazing that anybody even gets on the Skyranger these days.

Research completed.
Boy oh boy, do we ever have things to Avenge.
Side note: This is the dumbest looking craft in the GAME. Why does the Ultimate Craft look like a short bus in space? The Avenger on the front of the US version's box looks so much cooler. If this one had been anywhere on the packaging I would be reading this LP today thinking "huh, how did I miss this great game?"

How long does it take Lockhead-Martin to make an F22 or whatever? My little mom and pop shop can crank one of these interplanetary assault craft out in a few weeks.

New toys. We are critically short on Elerium now after producing so many HWP bombs, so we wont get many of these.

Definitely none of these.

Brazil is unhappy? Imagine that. I shot down lots of UFOs and I think you get points for research as well, though, so somehow this turns out to be a 'good' month...I guess 2 base defenses are worth something.
New recruits:
Deitti IV.
Pelvis Knot VII.
Lightbane IX.
K. Slips V.
Rtard VI.
Drog X.
Ulminati V.
Helly IV.
Whisky V.
Ess Vee IV.
Ace Flasheart V.

Fantastic. Time to start thinking about how I'm going to use it--

...great. I guess the Superhuman AI spams base assaults.

Remember those Hovertanks in AntartiCOM? Well, I built two up here, too. The plan is simple...set up around the corner from the access corridor and nuke the piss out of whatever broadcasts its presence until the alien landing force is paste.

Snakemen and their Chryssalid pets. A few get blasted as they round the corner, but the HWPs direct fusion bomb after fusion bomb around the corner whenever anything is suspected to be nearby.

Still, there are a few casualties. Helly IV and Lightbane IX finally go down after a protracted firefight, and the last snakeman rounds the corner, grenade in hand, and tosses it at Ess Vee IV before dying to return fire.
Helly IV.
Lightbane IX.
Ess Vee IV.
You were the shield that guards the realms of men.

So here's the situation now:
Dozens of UFOs are dropping into Earth's atmosphere every month. Alien bases are popping up everywhere...I know of three. My two critical bases are under constant assault and the first Ethereal task force will probably take the base it hits along with everything/one in it. Because of furious production of HWP fusion missiles my Elerium stocks are low. I know I can get plenty from alien bases and landed Supply Ships...but that will just get me the supplies I need to continue a protracted rearguard against the exponentially elevated UFO presence. I have invested so heavily in R&D to get to this point that I have almost zero monthly surplus and I rely on selling hundreds of black market laser rifles and pawning extra alien crap just to stay in the black.
I could take time and build a fleet of advanced Avengers and Firestorms and a ring of well defended bases around the globe and try to achieve air superiority; I could also capture a psi alien, build a psi training center, and get some mind-controlling badasses that will make assaulting all these alien bases a cakewalk. I could equip my squads with lots of power armor and flying suits.
...and, 90-100 missions later, on update #87, I could make the final assault.

Did that get your attention?

I'm going to Cydonia ASAP, so I abandon EuroCOM. That's right...Firestorm, soldiers, weapons and equipment, everything of value gets shipped to AntarctiCOM. We are going to toss everything and everyone we can get in the Avenger and go cut off the snake's head.

This research was finished right after the aliens took EuroCOM.

...so the time has come. Engineers fuel the Avenger with the last precious Elerium, and as many heavy plasma and blaster bomb weapons along with medkits and grenades are loaded as will possibly fit (80 item limit, grrr.) We'll also be tanking some fusion HWPs, depending on how many soldiers make the trip.
This will be a Codex-only mission...no unnamed rookie cannon fodder. I will assemble the final roster pre-mission, so if you want in and your avatar hasn't already died a lot been in on the action, now is the time. If you signed up but think you've somehow disappeared, lemme know.
Side bets on whether we'll have a snowball's chance are also acceptable.
Updated mission roster soon, then the final assault to follow.

 

[Kashmir Slippers]

Wow. Glorious. Give 'em hell.

 

[Storyfag]

That... that was a surprisingly short game

 

[lightbane]

The situation is desperate, but hope never dies! Let's watch how you fail and die horribly finish the fight, bro. Lightbane is ready to roll out.

 

[Bloodshifter]

Now that it's the end game I might as well say GG all or nothing bro balls to the walls and kiss your mother goodbye

 

[Azira]

Assuming I'm not wounded anymore, sign me up for the suicide mission.

 

[Lindblum]

Gen X, For Codexia!

 

[Jaedar]

If you need more cannon fodder for the slaughter, sign me up.

 

[Gondolin]

Dude, you took on Ethereals with loaded weapons? Every soldier still in the Skyranger should have kept his/her weapon empty, for fuck's sake.

 

[UncleJimb0]

Another meta game fail.

Guess I could have mentioned in post one that this is my first superhuman play through...bc of infamous difficulty bug i have never yet gotten past first save on anything other than beginner.

 

[Deitti]

i expect the next update to be glorious but no matter what happens, it's do or die.

 

[UncleJimb0]

I won't start the Cydonia mission until tomorrow or the next day. I will be able to add/edit this roster up until then.

Current mission roster:

Gondolin IV (slipped off the list for some reason after you died in the first Snakeman base assault.)
Brazi Slaughter IV
Drog X
K. Slips V
Eklek III
IDtenT IV
Helly V
Whisky V
Deitti IV
Ulminati V
Rtard VI
Pelvis Knot VII
Pope Amole VII
Lightbane X
Ess Vee V
Storyfagowicz V
Azira IV
Desk Commander IV
Ace Flasheart V
Jaedar
Schlubes
Stereotypical Villain

 

[schluberlubs]

Schlubes, signing up for the meat-grind.

 

[Helly]

God, the slaughter

 

[Bloodshifter]

Pick me too the slaughter shall be glorious

 

[Lindblum]

I won't start the Cydonia mission until tomorrow or the next day. I will be able to add/edit this roster up until then.

Hmm your Avatar... is it a preview of whats to come?

 

[Stereotypical Villain]

No Stereotypical Villain for the last assault?

 

[UncleJimb0]

Stereotypical Villain: Ess Vee's alter ego can die with the rest of them.
Lindblum: I'm thinking about it...Korenzal's was so awesome I hate to try and follow it.
Starting mission now...update to come.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

Give the good ol' Hellfire a blaster launcher and he'll raze the whole Cydonia to the ground by himself
Just place him in one of the rows to the back, pretty pleaaaase. (it'll be a lot of fun when he's mind controlled on the first turn and kills everybody)

 

[Pope Amole II]

I'm thinking about it...Korenzal's was so awesome I hate to try and follow it.

You can always try Apocalypse. Maybe it's decline, but someone will have to LP it eventually.

 

[Saduj]

Nice work, Uncle. Regret that I started following this one too late to volunteer.

Godspeed to all Codexers participating in the final shitdisaster misson!

 

[Whisky]

I'm thinking about it...Korenzal's was so awesome I hate to try and follow it.

You can always try Apocalypse. Maybe it's decline, but someone will have to LP it eventually.

I actually liked Apocalypse quite a bit...

Yes, in many ways, it was a decline and boy did it have flaws. But I really liked the premise and I still found the new battle system enjoyable. It's too bad they didn't add more stuff to the city.