Let's Play X-COM: UFO Defense!

[Peptuck]

Am I actually dead this time? Or are we gonna have ROBO ROBO RYAN?

As long as you have a brain, you'll have a place in X-COM.

So being in X-COM... invalidates your position in X-COM?

No one said it had to be a quality brain, or a brain in good repair.

[Maxentius]

I am shocked I lived as long as I did.

[Peptuck]

Started using .png files. Upload a trillion times faster to photobucket, though they're a bit smaller. If anyone has an issue with this, I'll go back to using .bmp files.

Relatively little battlescape view this update. Most of the action is strategic, and the UFO clearings were standard fare.

-

The latter part of April brought some excellent news.




Doctor Surlethe's team finished research on the aliens' alloys, and subsequently completed research on a means to modify the aliens' equipment to create a plasma-resistant battle armor.

We also began research on the curious heavy radioactive elements the aliens are using to power their ships.



Very quickly, we deduced that the aliens use an isotope of ununpentium-115. the potential energy output of this isotope is simply staggering.

Unfortunately for some of our team, this research did not come soon enough.




Two small UFOs were rapidly detected within hours of each other, one over Asia and the second over Europe. PeZook and Coalition were already in pursuit of the UFO over Asia when the second was detected.



PeZook got the one over Asia, while Coalition doubled back to engage the one over Europe. However....



The kill did not go to Coalition, but rather to our newest pilot, Tasoth, and his new Interceptor. The UFO fell into the ocean off the French coast, to not be recovered.

The first downed UFO was assaulted and cleared in the usual fashion. Floaters were encountered once again, and we suffered only one casualty. Jonen C, on his first mission with X-COM, was killed on entering the UFO, but managed to take one Floater with him.



Note: I failed to catch a cap of Jonen C's rather abrupt death.

A third UFO was detected on the ground in India. Another assault team was dispatched to clear it out. Things went well, until



FLOATERS IN THE TREES! FLOATERS IN THE TREES!

Turned out a floater was hiding in the trees and chucked a grenade into part of our leading team. Weemadando and Shepp were killed in the explosion, and RedImperator and Vanas were wounded in the subsequent assault.



Our vengeance was swift and fiery.

Robo-Ohma proved his bravery by taking a stun-bomb blast to the face during the final assault, taking out both himself and the floater engineer carrying it.




At the end of the month we detected another large UFO over Europe.



It waffled around for a bit, buzzing the UK, Spain, and France, before zipping off right as our interceptors refueled. We're not sure what it was after, but we believe that it might have been a terror ship searching for targets, and that our elimination of the scouts earlier prevented it from having a target to assault. If this is the case, it indicates the aliens rely on their scout ships to pick out targets ahead of their heavy ship assaults. Thus, downing the scouts prevents the larger ships from carrying out their objectives.




The end of the month showed a major boost in our funds, and the funding nations are most pleased with our work. The United States, in particular, seems exceptionally pleased with our performance.



Overall UFO activity in April was vastly less than previous UFO activity in March or February, with a dramatic drop in activity in Southeast Asia.



We can directly attribute this to our establishment of Vodkaville and Welcome To Earf, and the subsequent drumming we've given the xenos bastards.



Expenditure has also massively outstripped our income, but that is perfectly acceptable, as we've made the difference with our sales of medikits, laser cannons, and UFO artifacts.

Our financial situation is excellent, and with the funding boost we've well exceeded the overhead required to pay for our troops, scientists, engineers, aircraft, and facilities. Hangars are under construction at Perseus and Welcome to Earf to facilitate interception operations in those regions, and our Hyperwave Decoder at Skynerfed is almost complete.




Personnel roster
Active duty
Skynerfed
Zablorg
MJ12-1
MJ12-7
Rekkon
Defenstrator
Vanas
Zinixius
Stark
Wautd
Robo-Decue
Robo-Ohma
Faabio
Eulogy
Temjin
RedImperator

Vodkaville
Artemas
Circle
Square
Triangle
Generator_g1


Pilots/support:
Hawkwings: HWP
PeZook: Interceptor-03
Coalition: Interceptor-01
Tasoth: Interceptor-04
Starglider: Skyranger
Surlethe: Head Scientist
Bear: Head interrogator
Fnord: Chief Engineer
Academia: Assistant Chief Engineer
KrauserKrauser: Giant Hats Procurement
Nephtys: Public Relations
Vehrec: HWP
Setzer: Supply


Pending Assignment:
Darth Smiley
Agent Sorchus
Lord Revan
Narkus
Imperial Overlord
Covenant
Acidburns
Jett Tainer
Argosh
Eyexist

Dead/Un-robo'd
Phred (UFO fire, general incompetence among command staff, lulz)
DarkEvilMe (plasma fire)
White Haven (plasma fire)
Vendetta (2) (plasma fire, both times)
Thunder (2) (smoke inhalation, plasma fire to the ass)
Karza (2) (alien grenade, plasma fire)
Karrick (plasma fire to the ass)
Deither (plasma fire)
Maxentius (plasma fire)
Alfonso (friendly fire from Haven)
Guppyshark (plasma fire)
Rhoenix (alien grenade)
Jonen C (plasma fire)
Weemadando (alien grenade)
Shepp (alien grenade)

[White Haven]

There is only one possible explanation for the True Bearded One's lack of resurrection...robotics technology as it stands is insufficient to replicate his overpowering awesomeness. Clearly this requires a suitably-armoured body. Get to research, cogboys!

[Darkevilme]

When personal armour is developed, or possibly when we do the same for power armour, i want to be resurrected by virtue of pouring me into a suit of armour and giving me the biggest gun i can carry. Explosive preferably.

[weemadando]

NOOOOOOOOOO!

Why didn't I have my FUCKING PERSONAL ARMOUR?

[Academia Nut]

It hadn't been invented yet. Don't worry though, engineers like me will resurrect you in a new, superior metal chassis. Although the urge to create atomic powered super men might get to us a little...

[Ryan Thunder]

Note to self: attempting to throw a corpse crashes the game. XD

[PeZook]

NOOOOOOOOOO!

Why didn't I have my FUCKING PERSONAL ARMOUR?

It looks embarassing, and your Y chromosome rebelled when you tried to put it on.

[Temjin]

Wow. I applied to head the Psi lab, and I get to be cannon fodder instead. That must have been one bad interview.

Just make sure I get armour that has extra layers of protection in the back. It's not the aliens I'm worried about...

Edit: Not that I'm complaining. I'm fine with being cannon fodder.

[weemadando]

NOOOOOOOOOO!

Why didn't I have my FUCKING PERSONAL ARMOUR?

It looks embarassing, and your Y chromosome rebelled when you tried to put it on.

I traded in my balls when I got promoted to Captain. I demand cyborg-isation and MUCH BIGGER GUNS.

The Alien Menace (TM) has clearly progressed and is now using insurgent tactics (FLOATERS IN THE TREES!) and as such we need to respond appropriately.

Please find attached requisition orders for 122 B-52 airframes and 229 megatons of conventional iron bombs and clusterbombs.

[Chris OFarrell]

The fucked up thing is that I only just found this thread....how I missed it, I have no clue.

OHHH! Can I join up and be one of the smart ass wise cracking engineers who has the horrible job of trying to convert alien equations the scientists give me, into real weapons systems?

Or worse case, the annoying new guy on the team who is hyper enthusiastic and everyone starts laying bets on how long before I take a plasma bolt to the head...or a rocket to the back?

Pleassseee?!!!

[Vympel]

Sign me up, I wanna kick some alien ass.

[Peptuck]

Wow. I applied to head the Psi lab, and I get to be cannon fodder instead. That must have been one bad interview.

If you survive long enough for us to get a psi-lab, you'll be transferred.

[Eleas]

Throw me into the meat grinder, please.

*brings his own lutefisk*

[Jonen C]

The first downed UFO was assaulted and cleared in the usual fashion. Floaters were encountered once again, and we suffered only one casualty. Jonen C, on his first mission with X-COM, was killed on entering the UFO, but managed to take one Floater with him.

I regret nothing!

[consequences]

Bah, your draft was clearly insufficient, as is your skill in getting people killed, as I was neither recruited nor obliterated before now despite having posted in this thread prior. A pox on all of you people who exist or have existed I say!

So yeah, whatever, and wherever.

[Karza]

Wow. I applied to head the Psi lab, and I get to be cannon fodder instead. That must have been one bad interview.

If you survive long enough for us to get a psi-lab, you'll be transferred.

Yeah, that sounds likely .

[Vanas]

They're... all... just... FLESH WOUNDS!

*is chained to stretcher, wheeled into airliner*

I at least demand that the wards be equipped with 360s and Gears of War, in order to fend off the frustration of not being able to kill more aliens while wounded.

[wautd]

Woah, I made captain.

All shall do my bidding!

(except for that pesky colonel. But hey, accidents can happen right?)

[XaLEv]

Dude, some of those pictures are a megabyte or more.

[The Defenestrator]

I at least demand that the wards be equipped with 360s and Gears of War, in order to fend off the frustration of not being able to kill more aliens while wounded.

Sorry, it's still 1999. How about Half-Life instead?

[Peptuck]

Dude, some of those pictures are a megabyte or more.

Yeah, 56k users (like me) may start to cry.

On the other hand, the .bmps I've been using with Paint take forever and a day to upload to Photobucket. The update prior to this one took somewhere along the lines of three hours.

[Erik von Nein]

Oooh, hey, if there's another interceptor free up can I be a pilot?

[erik_t]

A big increase in compression would be appreciated. No reason for these to be more than like 200kb each.