Black said:
Where's mah update, fat man.
Delayed due to mass rape and by my stubborness against metagaming by going to Chitzena first. More specifically, although I've avoided save/loading during combat mode, I'm not sufficiently masochistic to do a full ironman and thus I had no limits on saving/loading outside of turn-based and I learned to hate the Drassen Airport level with passion. Yet in the end even with a full ironman things wouldn't have changed much: I'd have possibly made through Omerta, and would just sneak through instead of engaging enemy forces on the road. You'll see why there was no difference in this aptly named update.
By the way I can see the night images without problems, and I won't bother increasing their gamma. And finally, there will be a very important matter for you to vote about in the end of this update.
Minor Spoiler: It's still early game and the mofos are already packing rifles with high powered scopes, assault rifles and even 7.62mm machineguns! Also damn the 10mm MP5 variant. It is total shit compared to the standard MP5 and its ammunition is never found anywhere but Bobby Ray's.
:yougonnagetraped:
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Drassen Airport, End of Line
Bolt Thrower: Mercenary
Ulminati got the MP5A4 instead of that 10mm pointless variant, which also led to a much more efficiently silenced weapon for him, to the point truly silent kills may actually become possible during night operations, allowing the enemies to be picked one by one without drawing the alert of an entire enemy base.
Although 25 enemies sounds not that much, reinforcements will arrive as soon as the alarm sounds, and thus, to being the liberation of Drassen, they will put their lives at a tremendous risk and face ridiculous odds.
While they can count only on crappy SMGs with their 10mm ammunition fated to run out soon and with peashooters, their enemies are obviously packing. And this region is almost bare of safe places to force snipers to face them at close quarters. Most buildings are inside the enemy base and their entrances are in very well lit areas. There is one hope however of taking a tactically advantageous position: the darkness of the A.C.A. building rooftop could give the needed cover to get inside it, and also in itself provide a decent location to engage enemies as they would have to get up first and then get in close range to face the KKK.
Ulminati claims the first kill, and thanks to the silencer it draws no attention to the team, which presence the enemies remain oblivious to.
Another one is spotted by Bee. Ira and Ulminati, for being the stealthiest members of the team, sneak as close as they can for the killing.
But Ira peashooter lacks a silencer, thus Ulminati once again puts another enemy down without alerting the entire base, as they continue to sneak towards the ACA building.
In one of their bodies, Femshep finds a smoke grenade, which will most likely be useful eventually in this battle.
The airport entrance is predictably heavily guarded. Fortunately the Kodexers and Ira weren't yet detected, and thus they continue on their way.
However, it becomes clear they are running out of hiding opportunities.
Yet, they go patiently, watching patrols and avoiding combat for as long as they can, hopefully until they are in a tactically advantageous position. After all, not only they are obviously outnumbered, but also outgunned and out-ranged by their enemies.
Eventually the shit seemingly the fan as they were just about to get near the ACA building, but fortunately they react faster and have the initiative. Everything will now get very nasty.
Ulminati is given priority as the killer because he is the only one packing a silenced gun.
That was close. Luckily it seems their shot didn't draw the enemy attention to their current position, although they most likely are aware of their presence by now. Ulminati provides cover as the team crawls as quietly as they can towards the ACA building.
Damn! That is it! No surrender! No retreat! If they move fast enough they shall emerge victorious!
Ulminati does his best to cover the team's back, but for how long will he hold out such a threat?
Don't stand up, you'll just expose yourself to total slaughter if you do so! Keep moving!
Ulminati fights valiantly to buy time for their retreat to the rooftop.
Yet, he has limits.
And they were facing a fully-equipped ARMY with sidearms and SMGs only. Yet, somehow they managed to take a machinegunner down, who dropped his 7.62x51mm M1911 Browning machinegun on the ground. It's an old weapon but it's better than anything the mercenaries are currently packing. And unfortunately they can't risk their lives trying to grab it from the ground. And because things couldn't get any worse, Bee is severely wounded.
A thin thread hanging on a razor separates Bee from her death, as she was unfortunately too slow to keep up.
Ulminati brings them hell without making it obvious where he is. Bullets of revenge coming out of the darkness.
Revenge for what was now inevitable. Irene "Bee" Honeychurch became the first casualty of this war. She will never be forgotten, for regardless of not being the most pleasant person around, she still ensured they made their way through here due to her keen eyes as a scout.
RUN THE RAPETRAIN IS ACOMING!!!
Darkness is pointless when the enemy has access to a near infinite supply of flares and breaklights. As the light comes in so come the prayers. It's too late already!
Black runs desperatedly to the safety of darkness, and so do all of them. Their time will run out soon, they must climb to the rooftop immediately!
Unfortunately, Femshep was also too slow, and being EXTREME was of no help against such odds, in a location where the only place where they wouldn't be out-ranged by their enemies was so far away.
By pure luck the machineguns didn't finish them off right there, and then they realized those backpacks were a huge tactical hindrance a bit too late.
They climbed up as fast as they could.
And for Azira, that wasn't fast enough. Thus now Ira is the last hope of the survivors, whose morale is in the toilet after having half of their squad wiped out. Their odds are terrible, but they shall never surrender! For Azira! For Femshep! For Bee!
It doesn't take them much time for the realization that even laying prone near the center of the roof they are still vulnerable to snipers from below. But fortunately their shots are quite tough. It is obvious they must get down to the ACA building if they are to have even one chance against such unsurmountable numbers of superiorly equipped foes.
Ulminati makes the fascist's head explode. This battle may unfortunately become more like a last stand, unless they perform in an impressive manner.
Ira proves to be capable, saving the survivors.
They keep coming, and looking at the patterns a decision is made as it's obvious the three can't cover all the directions from where they enemies would climb up simultaneously.
A small respite, most likely short-lasted, gives the opportunity for them to position themselves in a better defensive way. They can't however just wait the enemy to climb up, as Ulminati's life is hanging due to bleeding.
Thus shots are fired to draw their attention.
Yet the three were too slow to react and interrupt the thug. Luckily he did the foolish act of trying to kill Ira by just punching her, causing only small wounds and exposing himself to the slaughter.
After that, silence again. Looking around it seems the enemies decided to play a game of waiting. And then a window of opportunity shows up for them to get inside the building, where they would manage to draw far more attention and be safer from snipers, provided they position themselves in a good way due to the windows.
Starting with Ira, who opens the door, they quickly get down and inside, taking defensive positions in one of the smaller rooms, where they will force the enemy to got at point blank ranges to engage them. Hopefully they will this time interrupt all enemies first. Because any other casualty will surely mean total and certain defeat, the end of the last hope of freedom for Arulco. Ira fires a few shots to hopefully lure them in.
And the plan works perfectly.
However, after a pile of corpses ends at their doorstep, the enemies once again play a game of waiting, and even provocation shots don't draw them in. Meanwhile, Ulminati is getting worse. In everything, the enemies have the advantage. They will have to take a risk and position themselves in the main room of the ACA building.
They somewhat managed it.
Just in time as soon more enemies would be in range. They were all prone and very close to the walls, meaning snipers should have a hard time hitting them.
Ulminati however, due to his worsening state, makes a run for safety. He just cannot risk himself as there is now wall for him to hug and be safe from snipers.
He takes even another shot as he desperatedly tries to get somewhere they can't hit them.
But with luck, he managed it. By now it was clear. This was no longer a battle. At these odds, and considering how many bullets were left for the crappy 10mm SMG, this was more of a last stand. Later, Ira's position, even hugged to the wall, is proved too vulnerable, perhaps because those damn snipers are shooting at her through the walls, and thus she also ends having to retreat to somewhere safer, leaving only Black with a clear line of sight to the ACA building entrance for the moment.
Ulminati bravely does what he can while still conscious to keep the enemies at bay. Their defense of the ACA building is definitively heroic. Should somehow they emerge victorious, then it would be both heroic, legendary and MAJESTIC.
Even if they don't, they will go down with a huge amount of notchs in theri guns.
Shit! Snipers bullets are getting through the wall, but luckily they lost most of their kinetic energy upon impact with the wall, and thus Black could still handle the pressure. The enemies surrounded the ACA building by now, as their last stand was about to reach its climax.
Now that must hurt! Ulminati continual bleeding incapacitated him. Now only Ira and Black remain in action, and Black's 10mm SMG has only one magazine left.
He'll make it count! Thus they will either go out as legends or die here.
But, there comes a time in the last stand when those involved realize nothing short of a miracle shall save them, where it seems the enemies have too many reserves, and they run out of bullets first than their foes out of men.
This was such moment. Defeat after this turn of events was not just a maybe, but a total certainty, and then, without cash to hire more mercenaries, the entire operation would be over.
I won't do this battle all over again. No way in hell I'll redo this whole battle all over again. It was like hitting your own balls with a TASER.
THUS THE QUESTION, WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR ME TO DO?
a) Show everybody getting raped in the subsequent enemy turn and put an end to this LP
OR
b) Go popamole and cheat to not lose this battle, so I can show even worse rape later
Bros INSANE difficulty is fucking INSANE, maybe to a totally unplayable level without tricks like "hit and run". I busted it. This Airport level is horribly lacking in places that allow you to compensate the enemy weapons superior range, and I wasn't expecting them to be packing MGs and having so many snipers this soon. Maybe should've let the stay remain on the roof, although Ulminati was dying, it was impossible to cover all points enemies could climb from with the survivors and they started to ignore luring attempts over there.
At least it lasted longer than the Wizardry IV LP, if this is how you want it to end.
*edit: last screenshot fixed.