X-COM II: The Earth's Revenge (Part VI)

[JeeberD]

Sorry for your demise, Kerillini, but WooHoo! Europe, here I come!

[tucker342]

YES!!!

TIME TO KICK SOME SECTIOD ASS!!!

[Coffee Warlord]

Wow.

The game of X-Com I've been putzing around with...fairly early on, medium alien craft assault.

We're taking heavy fire, I've got my boys all around the Skyranger, fighting for their lives...

End turn, I see 2 grenades fly from different directions right into the mass of my troops.

...and the game crashes.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Coffee: Pretty impressive aliens you've got there: they can even take out your computer. Wow!

[Coffee Warlord]

Damn right! My aliens mean business!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Skyranger Transmission

This just in...

Wade told me to report in that there's like almost no one here. The guys have been walking around for fifteen minutes and they ain't seen nothing but "sick toads", but, I mean, how dangerous can frogs be? Don't know why he even bothered telling me that. I heard a few booms, saw some smoke, and someone's been shooting at something, though, but according to Wade, there's nothing here but sick toads, so I wouldn't worry. Everyone should be ok.

BOOOOOM! Ping, pang, ping!

Holy shit! There's an X-COM agent shooting at the Skyranger! Damn it! Hey you! Lay off the cheese out there! Huh? Is that a rocket coming this way? Whoa! Over and o...

Tranmission ends.

[tucker342]

uh oh...

[Coffee Warlord]

Actually, I think a certain X-Com Agent who was monitoring the radio made due on a certain promise regarding Skyranger pilots.

[Superman=#54]

It's about time someone shut-up that pilot with those annoying reports. I wonder what is a "Sick-Toid" very very interesting. Looks like more PSI attacks, not good not good at all.

[JeeberD]

That doesn't sound good at all...

[Havok]

how do you get X-COM to run on your computer??? wasnt it released in 1993?? Or are you using a older computer?

[Coffee Warlord]

Gold Edition with some patch to the main .dll file, and it runs fine.

My actual CD wouldn't work in 98, but I downloaded the patched version of the game off the 'net. (No, don't ask me where I got it. The place I got it from took it off anyway.)

[RendeR]

I have a copy that I can't get to run on XP at all. I'd be quite appreciative if someone could direct me to a version of it that would work.

[Japherwaki]

D'oh! I didn't notice that this thread was back up. Put me back on the list. I'm here. Japherwaki II wants to make up for his father's less than stellar performance. Retribution will be his!

Eventually...

[Havok]

Well.... if anyone knows of a way to get it to work on Windows XP let me know. I'd also be interested in a place to download the game itself, i threw my copy of the game away a long time ago.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Japherwaki: No problem. Welcome back! I'll add your name back on the list.

A couple of thoughts for people trying to get the game to run...

I'm using the Collector's Edition on Windows SE. You have to disable QuickDraw (I think that's what it's called) on your graphics card to get it to work properly. I tried my older version of the game, but had no luck getting it to work.

This XCOM site is pretty good. Their forums can be especially helpful for technical questions. I think we can now link to their site because they have taken down the links to download the game for free.

[tucker342]

thanks Godzilla! I've been trying to get it to run for a while now.

[tucker342]

dola-

Do you think the X-Com collector's Edition would work with XP, cause I'm really tempted to buy it...

[Raven Hawk]

Captain Raven Hawk returns to base with the Skyranger. They unload the remains of Kerillini II. Raven Hawk bows his head for the fallen warrior and heads back to his office.

There on his desk he noticed that he had forgotten to put away his leisure readings that kept his mind occupied when the believed the base was under attack. Commander Kodos probably would have busted him down to Sergeant if he had know that Raven Hawk was reading leisure materials while the base was preparing for attack.

"How mad could he have really gotten on such a quick read?" Raven Hawk pondered as he dropped the his reading into the trash.

He quietly walked away from his desk. The title of his reading was barely readable by a visitor passing his office, but it clearly read:

George Forman's Book of Baby Names.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Tucker: Sorry, no clue on that one. I would search/ask over at that X-COM site, and you might want to search or ask at GoneGold too. There are a lot of people that play X-COM there, and they are a friendly and helpful lot.

____________

Next battle should be up Monday before 6 CST. I just finished it now; all I have to do it edit the report, so I'll probably take a work break in the afternoon to clean it up then post it. Man, I forgot how much fun this game is.

[Kodos]

The ol' Sectoid Hattrick. Not too shabby, Commander, not too shabby!

[Blade6119]

Asia wonders whats happening...must be too drunk off victory and a 10-kill mission for me...please...my sectoid addiction must be filed after my spirits are dashed after giving up 3 late goals to lose 3-4 in the match against my division league rival...need this to help my spirits!

[DeToxRox]

Hey...

I did kill a man before.

Or at least injure.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Godzilla Blitz]

50th Mission: Big Day, Part II (German Battleship UFO)!

Two hours after the EU Skyranger lifts off for home, the ASIA Skyranger makes its way down to the German countryside for what will be the second major battle of the day. With the news of the successful early morning attack, agent confidence is high. However, this attack should be against a larger UFO, and our previous battleship attacks have been nerve-wracking affairs. This should prove to be no exception.

Colonel Wade Moore is in charge of the following crew:

Left Side:
1. Jfbbis (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Split Personality III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Wade Moore (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. BYU (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Patman II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

Right Side
1. Travis II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
2. Blade6119 III (Blaster Launcher, Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
3. Qwikshot II (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
4. Al Hill III (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)
5. Airhog (Heavy Plasma, Power Suit)

The Skyranger descends to the German fields below. The clear front that is over England extends across most of the European continent, and the weather here is beautiful as well: not a cloud in the sky, cool late summer temperatures, and little breeze. The most dominating feature of the landscape below is the massive bulk of the alien battleship that is our objective today. The UFO is a three-story monster of a craft with two expansive, octagonal floors sitting atop a bottom floor that consists of four landing columns surrounding a central exit pod. Our Skyranger pilot is putting the craft down less than 30 feet to the right of the craft. By coming down to the right front of the battleship, our men will have secure areas at the nose of the Skyranger and to the right of the its exit. To the rear of the Skyranger exit we can see nothing but fields; to the left is our target.

The Skyranger drops the final few feet to the ground and touches down. The exit ramp drops outwards and lands with a thud on the soft summer soil. Nothing. Quiet landing. With the UFO so close, this surely won’t last.

Our tank hits the ramp, scans left and right, but spots no alien movement. The key to these battleship attacks seems to be to quickly establish firing lines on the central exit pod in the center of the UFO, and to do this, we send our tank left, off the Skyranger ramp. From here, one of the large outer support pods partially blocks our view of the central exit pod, but we do have a reasonable view into the central area under the UFO. Still no sign of alien activity. Split Personality III exits the Skyranger and sets up behind our tank. Travis II exits, heads right from the ramp, and sets up a firing position on the fields to the rear of the Skyranger. The rest of the men shuffle to the Skyranger exit.

We edge our tank left to get a better look at the central pod of the UFO. We can now the left exit, one of the two that we know exists there. We hear the whirring of UFO doors, but see no alien activity, and this holds for the next few minutes.

We begin our deployment. BYU joins Split at the rear of the tank and the two men take up firing positions on the central exit pod. Travis II heads straight back from the Skyranger exit and towards the open fields, then cuts left to a fence that provides another firing angle on the underneath of the UFO, this one from the right side of the intervening support pod. From here he can see that there are some small shacks that lie off to the right of the UFO, but everything there appears quiet too. Qwikshot II and Al Hill III make their way straight out from the exit, and continue on to clear the open fields that lie further to the rear of the Skyranger. Blade6119 III exits the Skyranger, moves right, and sets up a firing position with the Blaster Launcher. Once these men get underway, Airhog sprints out of the Skyranger and races the short distance to the side of the near supporting pod of the UFO. He makes it to the wall unimpeded. Jfbbis, Patman II, and Wade Moore wait for the others to clear the exit area.

Although we can hear the near constant whirring of UFO doors, we see no aliens yet. What are they doing?

There is still a considerable amount of space underneath the UFO that we can’t see, and part of this unknown area includes the right door of the two exit doors on the central pod, so we decide to shake things up a bit. Blade6119 III launches a blaster rocket around the back of the Skyranger, under the UFO’s overhanging floors, and slams it into the central exit pod, right near where we expect their to be an exit door. The rocket explodes with a roar and sends clouds of smoke, dirt, and debris spewing out from under the UFO. Tough to hear with the explosion, but there might have been an alien wail in that sound. Still no sign of aliens, and within a few moments, the battlefield grows ominously quiet again.

Suddenly, Travis II spots a Sectoid near the shacks to the right of the UFO! He lifts his Heavy Plasma to fire, but the Sectoid backs out of sight before he can get a shot off. First contact! But where did it go?

We continue to move. Airhog starts to edge his way around the central pod, and Wade Moore sprints to join him. Qwikshot and Al make it far enough into the fields at the rear of the Skyranger to see that they are empty of aliens, then the two of them break left and head towards the shacks to the right of the UFO to try to flush out the Sectoid that Travis II spotted. Patman II exits the Skyranger and jogs to join them. Jfbbis grabs some blaster launcher missiles to re-supply Blade6119, then exits the Skyranger and moves to join him at the nose of the Skyranger. From here, with his outstanding marksmanship, he should also have some good long shots on the left UFO exit door.

Al, Qwikshot, and now Patman II reach a long fence overlooking the shanties to the right of the UFO and take up firing positions. Al is on the left, Qwikshot in the middle, and Patman II sets up on the right. Still no sign of the Sectoid near the shanties. Al preps an alien grenade and tosses it towards the door of one of the shacks. It goes off with a crash that blows apart half the shanty. There! Patman II spots a Sectoid running towards the shack in a field just to the right of the shack! He fires on full auto. Plasma beams flash across the 30-yard interval and tear the Sectoid to pieces! It tumbles to the ground dead! Nice shooting Patman II! X-COM 1, Aliens 0!

Time to take those shacks. If we can get control of those, we’ll have good firing lines on both exit doors from the UFO, and should be able to rip apart anything that tries to come out. Patman II blows apart a section of the wooden fence in front of him and makes his way along a stone wall that leads up to the first shack. Suddenly, he spots another Sectoid in the field to the right of the shacks! Oh no! The Sectoid has him dead to rights! Patman II raises his Heavy Plasma, but before either he or the Sectoid can get a shot off Qwikshot II drills the Sectoid with a stream of Heavy Plasma that sends the alien flying backwards to the ground! Nice shot Qwikshot! Patman II resumes his cautious advance on the first shack. X-COM 2, Aliens 0.

Back at the UFO, things are quiet. Airhog and Wade wait at the central pod. Travis II keeps a close eye on the corner of the support pod should any aliens come around it. Jfbbis and Blade6119 wait for targets at the front of the Skyranger. BYU and Split Personality III wait behind the tank, their Heavy Plasmas trained on the left UFO exit.

Patman II reaches the right side of the first shack, and spots a two-story barn two buildings further down. He quickly calls in the coordinates to Blade6119, who screams revenge for his ancestors’ deaths, and happily lets fly with a blaster launcher rocket. The rocket flies through the fields, drops down to ground level, and slams into the right side of the first floor. The resultant blast devastates a grove that lies to the right of the barn, and shatters the first floor of the barn in a massive explosion of wood, fire, and smoke. No alien screams though. Qwikshot II shuffles right and starts to head for Patman II’s position. We’ll hold both of these men where they are for the moment, as they have great firing angles on the right UFO exit door, and it appears that the shacks and barn are clear of aliens, for the moment. Al Hill turns left, as from his current position, he has a good angle on the right exit as well.

Now that we’ve got good firing positions on the UFO exits, things are looking better. We decide to let Blade6119 have some fun. Al Hill can see that Blade6119’s first blaster rocket blew the right exit door apart on the central pod. Blade6119 now programs a blaster rocket through that opening, into the elevator shaft just beyond it, up one floor, then sharply right and well into the body of the UFO. The goal is to have it hit something in that first floor, and rip apart the interior of the UFO. Blade6119 fires; the rocket whooshes across the interval and disappears into the UFO. We hear the muffled explosion a second later, followed by the muffled scream of at least one Sectoid! Yes! It worked! Blade6119 got one! We have no idea how much damage he did, as the UFO is huge, and there were no telltale signs of the blast, but we have to believe that that missile should shake things up a bit! X-COM 3, Aliens 0.

Now we wait…

And wait…

Sectoids! In the central exit pod! Our tank and Split Personality react first, sending fire through the rent in the door and punching a hole in one Sectoid’s chest! But there’s at least two more in there. Suddenly, a blaster rocket comes sailing out of the exit right at our tank, BYU, and Split Personality III! It sails across the interval…

And just misses! It sails further on, just misses the nose of the Skyranger, and then continues on to blow up harmlessly in the distance with a roar. This near miss though is too much for BYU, who goes berserk, turns around, and opens fire randomly! Plasma blasts pepper the Skyranger, and Blade6119 and Jfbbis duck for cover. Stop that, BYU! Once under cover, Blade6119 lets another blaster rocket fly into the core of the central pod. The rocket disappears inside and explodes, sending out a rush of black smoke and debris. From inside, we hear the frantic wail of Sectoids dying! Blade6119 got at least another one! Rock ‘n roll! X-COM 5, Aliens 0.

BYU quickly comes back under control, but Wade orders him to drop his weapon and move behind the central pod. Jfbbis leaves the Skyranger, and races to support Split Personality III at the tank. As he does this, another Sectoid appears in the pod! Split Personality III drills him with one shot, dropping the alien headless to the floor of the pod. X-COM 6, Aliens 0.

We close on the UFO door. From the right side, Al Hill, Travis, and Airhog all start to advance on the central pod. The left side holds to provide covering fire. As they do this, another Sectoid comes down the lift into the pod! Split Personality III, Jfbbis, and the tank are once again too fast for the Sectoid, as they drill him with a gut-splitting Plasma blast that sends the thing screaming to the floor of the pod. X-COM 7, Aliens 0.

The Sectoids answer with a wave of PSI-energy that washes over our men, and Split Personality III freezes! Damn it! Snap to it! With only Jfbbis remaining at the tank, Wade orders BYU back into action. BYU sprints to his Heavy Plasma, and joins our tank and Jfbbis as they advance on the exit pod. From the right side Al Hill and Travis also close quickly on the pod. Then, more Sectoids in the pod and in front of the pod! Streams of plasma absolutely rip apart the area. At least two Sectoids go down, with everyone near the exit pod firing, and even Qwikshot II and Patman II getting in on the action! Man, what an intense display of firepower! There quickly follows an explosion somewhere inside the UFO. An alien must have dropped something? Suddenly another alien corpse appears to the front left of the exit? How the hell did it get there? Just as quickly as it starts, the firing stops, and our men continue to close on the central pod. X-COM 9. Aliens 0.

Split Personality III gets himself back under control, but his morale is badly shaken: Wade orders him back to drop his weapon and head back to the Skyranger.

With our right flank exposed, Patman II and Qwikshot II decide to start a sweep of the shacks. This should help cover our men as they hustle to enter the UFO. Wade and Airhog stay in reserve, waiting to fill in should their help be needed. Blade6119 keeps a steady finger on the Blaster Launcher.

As our men close the final few yards to the center pod, we can see that one of Blade6119’s rockets ripped huge holes in the floor and ceiling of the second floor of the UFO, right in front of the exit pod. That would explain the Sectoid corpse on the ground in front of the central pod: it fell through the hole in the UFO floor. How it died is another question. This hole allows our men approaching from the left to actually see up into the shattered guts of the craft. As they approach, Jfbbis spots alien movement up on the third floor, opens fire instantaneously, and kills the thing! X-COM 9, Aliens 0.

And that’s it? It’s over! Wow! We did it! No casualties! Well done, men!

Wrap-up

Promotions: None.
Kills: Blade 6119 III, 5; Jfbbis, 2; Patman II, 2; Qwikshot II, 1; Split Personality II, 2.
KIA: None.
Wounded: None.
Attribute Improvements: Blade6119 III, Jfbbis, Airhog, Patman II, Qwikshot II, Travis II, Split Personality III.
Final score: 611. Wow!
Mission Notes:
Blade6119 III sure had himself a good day with the Blaster Launcher! Five kills! Way to go!

Patman II’s second kill is a bit of a mystery. The only other thing I can think of is that he must have gotten the kill when the Sectoids massed in the central pod at the end of the battle.

I have no idea how Airhog improved. He and Wade were in reserve, and didn’t fire a shot the whole battle. Bizarre.

Once again we get all kinds of stuff from the UFO. Should fetch a pretty price on the market! Nice!

Two down, two to go! USA COM up next!

Go FOF X-COM!

[3ric]

Outstanding display! Enough firepower to level half of Baghdad was utilized to good effect!

[sachmo71]

The attribute improvement for Wade and Airhog may have happened because they had to check their bravery during the PSI attack, or they may have been close to their carrying capacity.

[Qwikshot]

I hope I got improvement to fend off PSI attacks...my bravery is real low...I always worry I'm going to be responsible for friendly fire.

[JeeberD]

Wow, great job. Now let's take out these next two with the same sort of results...

[Godzilla Blitz]

RavenHawk: Is a congratulations in order, or are you just prophesizing your doom and thinking about names for RavenHawk II?

Kodos: Very nice, Commander! Very nice indeed!

Blade6119: I hope that picks up your day. 5 kills may be second only to RavenHawk's big day a while ago.

3ric: Those Blaster Launcher's rock. Talk about changing a battle with a couple of shots.

Sachmo: Aha! Thanks!

Qwikshot: I'm wondering what the PSI-abilities will look like once we can see them. Not sure when that happens, but I think we should almost be there.

JeeberD: Effective use of the Blaster Launchers has helped a lot the last couple of missions, but in all honesty we have been lucky the last two missions. The aliens can't seem to hit diddly. I just hope our luck continues.

Also, I noticed in Berlin that an agent that survives a PSI-check may still have their morale drop significantly, making them more susceptible to the next attack. That happened to Lokugh, and the next turn he went nuts and shot everyone up. I'm making sure now to check everyone after each attack, and making people that have big morale drops drop their weapons and get back to the Skyranger. I'm hoping this will help reduce our deaths from alien controlled agents.

On a side note, things are slowing down a bit. The left shift-key cover on my notebook PC just popped off, making the typing of capital letters a bitch. Anyone know how to fix a broken key?

_______

USA COM up next. My guess is Thursday at the latest, maybe much sooner though. Got to keep plugging away while the luck is with us.

[Blade6119]

Originally posted by Blade6119
Asia wonders whats happening...must be too drunk off victory and a 10-kill mission for me...please...my sectoid addiction must be filed after my spirits are dashed after giving up 3 late goals to lose 3-4 in the match against my division league rival...need this to help my spirits!

Blade6119: I hope that picks up your day. 5 kills may be second only to RavenHawk's big day a while ago.

well...i would have liked 10, but i think i can settle for 5 ....keep giving me that blaster launcher!!!!

[Blade6119]

How did i get 5 kills and not improve?

[Airhog]

well it doesnt take much skill to program a guided missle to kill for ya

[Blade6119]

Originally posted by Airhog
well it doesnt take much skill to program a guided missle to kill for ya

well it doesn't blah blah blah....how many kills did you get?....how did you help the team?...my point is made

[Kodos]

Nice work, Blade. Commander Kodos is quite pleased with how these battles are going. Quite pleased indeed.

[Airhog]

Originally posted by Blade6119
well it doesn't blah blah blah....how many kills did you get?....how did you help the team?...my point is made

Well for starters, I didnt have a weapon that does all the work for ya

Besides, someone has to cover your ass while you fiddle with the weapon of yours

[Godzilla Blitz]

Blade6119: Whoops. There you go. We'll share the best toys with everyone though, so you might not get the Blaster Launcher for a bit. Only ones that won't get it are agents with low bravery. Last thing we need is for an alien controlled agent to be toting one of those things behind our lines.

Kodos: I'm amazed how well things have gone so far. I thought I would be making lots of stupid mistakes, but so far the aliens are missing and we are tearing them apart. I think pulling people off the front line when their morale dips from PSI-attacks might help us reduce casualties a lot in the future though. Most of our disasters recently have come from alien controlled agents, and if we can reduce those, we might be able to save a lot of lives. We'll see what happens when we run into Ethereals again though. Those things are just nasty compared to Sectoids.

Airhog: You want next up with the Blaster Launcher? Boom boom boom.

[wade moore]

Good job men! It's nice when I can sit back and watch you all work and not have to get my hands dirty

[Lokugh]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz

Also, I noticed in Berlin that an agent that survives a PSI-check may still have their morale drop significantly, making them more susceptible to the next attack. That happened to Lokugh, and the next turn he went nuts and shot everyone up. I'm making sure now to check everyone after each attack, and making people that have big morale drops drop their weapons and get back to the Skyranger. I'm hoping this will help reduce our deaths from alien controlled agents.

That's me all right...I get depressed easily. Hopefully little Lokugh II will do better than his Pops did. I want my boy to be an officer!

Lokugh

"If at first you don't succeed, make sure you are toting a Blaster Launcher."

[RendeR]

Is RendeR II gonna get any action? =)

[Kodos]

Certainly not!

Oh, wait... you meant in the game!

[MrBug708]

Is it my turn yet?

[RendeR]

*thwaps Kodos with a very large tank*


*SPLAT!!*


What was that? did someone here a bug getting squished?
*rubs his ears*

[Godzilla Blitz]

Wade: Sorry that you didn't get to do much in that last mission. I thought there would be more of a fight at the end and everyone could get in. I don't want to lose you early in a big fight though, because of the morale hit the men would take.

Lokugh: Nice quote!

Render: You're in Europe. You guys hog all the action.

Mr. Bug: I'll have an updated list in soon, but there's still 14 people in front of you in the waiting list. Looks to be a bit of a wait.

[Havok]

well... you guys need to start dying!!! i need to get called up dammit!!!!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Skyranger Transmission:

This just in. Helpful stuff as usual:

Ahem. Hello? You guys at HQ know why the radio only gets Barry Manilow? I tried fixing it by going WHAM WHAM WHAM on top of the dash, but nothing seems to help. All I can get is Barry. You know, I kind of like Barry now. You ever listen to him? And oh, yeah, since when did our men learn how to speak like aliens? Is that some kind of new code? How come no one tells me this stuff? And I think you might want to check the lunch food at the base: a lot of guys are getting sick out there. I feel these sick feelings sometimes too, and I feel like I'm going blow chunks, you know? Here comes another one...Whoa...That was a strong one. Dude. I can see little fuzzy green things floating in front of my eyes. I wonder if I can catch one. Tell me, why are we fighting the aliens? Are they bad? They seem kind of cute to me. I have to pee. Bye.

End of transmission.

[Kodos]

Damned interns!

[JeeberD]

Ah, PSI attacks. Makes for an interesting mission...

[Coffee Warlord]

If I'm not mind warped by aliens already.

I'm flipping the trigger on my satchel charge in the Skyranger cockpit. Now. Immediatly. No delay. Kerboom. Splat. Bang. Pow.

[Blade6119]

Originally posted by Lokugh
"If at first you don't succeed, make sure you are toting a Blaster Launcher."

How about this beauty from demotivation.com:

"If at first you dont succeed, failure may be your style"
or
"It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others"

I love those....if you want more, go there and browse their demotivational posters.

[wade moore]

Wade: Sorry that you didn't get to do much in that last mission. I thought there would be more of a fight at the end and everyone could get in. I don't want to lose you early in a big fight though, because of the morale hit the men would take.

Don't worry, I wasn't complaining.. I most certainly see the reasoning and advantage to me staying back -- believe me, I like staying alive!