03-04-2018, 05:29 PM
"When last we left our heroes..."
The Skyranger got back to the Avenger (the game's mobile flying base... seriously, I love this game) and I got down to the business of planning my next move / base expansion... but after NOT getting the supplies from the last mission, my options have been limited to "Sitting at the HQ location and farming the Intel resource". Real edge-of-your seat stuff. I already *have* a good pool of Intel, and the Black Market (where you can use that resource as currency for any number of things) doesn't have much that I want/need/can use.
So a few in-game days pass without anything bad happening... be careful what you wish for, right? My engineers manage to finish constructing a power relay (constructed over the exposed coils for the stat boost, of course), so I've got disposable power for the first time in game-weeks (I'd reached my maximum pretty quickly)... I re-task the engineer to clear debris from a room ASAP... it'll give much-needed space to build, and much-more-needed disposable cash (er, supplies). Really, really need those supplies.
I also finish researching and "Alien Data Pad", which just means I have even more Intel at my disposal. Which I guess is a good thing? Or just Alanis-style irony (as in, not technically ironic; just Canadian and sad), in that I have so much intelligence at my disposal and yet pooched my last mission essentially because I decided to ignore sleep and play video games? Since it's about 1:52am in my local meat-space, I may be detecting a theme... Anyway, I re-task my science boffins to unlocking Magnetic Weapons, this XCOM version of laser weaponry. That may have been an error, because even once I get the research done, I have not cash handy to actually equip the new tech (and who knows if that research event triggers the next step-up in the Alien response?).
Who's got two thumbs and a case of buyers remorse?
And just as I retro-actively regret my decision, a mission pops up onscreen. It's an alien retaliation strike against a human resistance stronghold (basically, a repackaged "Terror Mission" from the XCOM reboot). Oh, goody. I can't ignore this (OR FAIL!) because I'll lose contact with the region, hurting my already-bleak income, not to mention the only continent bonus I've got right now: I can re-use weapon modifications (handy!). So I'm basically all-in.
Now we think: I will NOT be performing this mission tonight. I'm tired, and I honestly think that's what cost me the last run. So... is it worth even selecting the squad and equipping them for this fight? Maybe, but I'm also leaning towards "no"... but I can make some notes to remember for tomorrow's entry (maybe in the afternoon, when the daughter-spawn is having her nap? Don't know... if the weather's nice again I might not post at all - it's been a long winter and my vitamin D could use the boost and fresh air from the outside world...)
Okay... I've got space for 5 troops on this mission.
I'll be bringing Lt Femi Kumalo along, aka "Lights Out"... it's a risk to rely so heavily on this one sharpshooter (the next highest sniper in line is merely a Corporal with nowhere near the versatility), but this really is a high risk mission. For kit, I'll be equipping Femi with the Battle Scanner... it has two uses, and is how I've been managing my old (bad) habit of rushing in like a fool without knowing where my targets are. I simply cannot do that anymore. I may also alter his rifle, swapping out the Advanced Scope (+10% to hit) for and extended magazine (+1 round in the clip).
Next, we'll need a medic. Two candidates, both Corporals with exactly the same stats. I'm choosing Cpr Ross Price, as Cpl Yuan was on the last mission and she deserves a break (*cough* bad luck *cough*). Price will be packing the Medkit (obviously), but I'm not sure what to do with his rifle. A decision for tomorrow then.
I'm leaning on bringing both of my ranked Rangers on this one (both Sgt). One is specialized in melee combat ("Paladin") and the other is more suited towards stealth ("Buzzsaw"), but the close-quarters nature of the mission favours shotguns (which they both pack), and again, I'll figure out specific weapon tweaks before I go live.
The final space will be either my junior Grenadier or a second (also junior) Sharpshooter. Grenades are useful, but so is getting experience on the lower ranks. A deep bench can win games, as they say in basketball.
The only other thing to remember before I leave for the mission is to assign a "personal combat sim", another new extra in this game... Think of a nicotine patch that can have different (and permanent!) boosts associated with them... in this case, I've got one that can increase a soldier's dodge stat. That might've been helpful last mission during the bug-out phase... or I might've lost that useful piece of kit too, so now is not the time for spilled milk.
What it *is* time for, good people, is sleep. We'll catch up soon, and hopefully have some better news in the after-action report.
The Skyranger got back to the Avenger (the game's mobile flying base... seriously, I love this game) and I got down to the business of planning my next move / base expansion... but after NOT getting the supplies from the last mission, my options have been limited to "Sitting at the HQ location and farming the Intel resource". Real edge-of-your seat stuff. I already *have* a good pool of Intel, and the Black Market (where you can use that resource as currency for any number of things) doesn't have much that I want/need/can use.
So a few in-game days pass without anything bad happening... be careful what you wish for, right? My engineers manage to finish constructing a power relay (constructed over the exposed coils for the stat boost, of course), so I've got disposable power for the first time in game-weeks (I'd reached my maximum pretty quickly)... I re-task the engineer to clear debris from a room ASAP... it'll give much-needed space to build, and much-more-needed disposable cash (er, supplies). Really, really need those supplies.
I also finish researching and "Alien Data Pad", which just means I have even more Intel at my disposal. Which I guess is a good thing? Or just Alanis-style irony (as in, not technically ironic; just Canadian and sad), in that I have so much intelligence at my disposal and yet pooched my last mission essentially because I decided to ignore sleep and play video games? Since it's about 1:52am in my local meat-space, I may be detecting a theme... Anyway, I re-task my science boffins to unlocking Magnetic Weapons, this XCOM version of laser weaponry. That may have been an error, because even once I get the research done, I have not cash handy to actually equip the new tech (and who knows if that research event triggers the next step-up in the Alien response?).
Who's got two thumbs and a case of buyers remorse?
And just as I retro-actively regret my decision, a mission pops up onscreen. It's an alien retaliation strike against a human resistance stronghold (basically, a repackaged "Terror Mission" from the XCOM reboot). Oh, goody. I can't ignore this (OR FAIL!) because I'll lose contact with the region, hurting my already-bleak income, not to mention the only continent bonus I've got right now: I can re-use weapon modifications (handy!). So I'm basically all-in.
Now we think: I will NOT be performing this mission tonight. I'm tired, and I honestly think that's what cost me the last run. So... is it worth even selecting the squad and equipping them for this fight? Maybe, but I'm also leaning towards "no"... but I can make some notes to remember for tomorrow's entry (maybe in the afternoon, when the daughter-spawn is having her nap? Don't know... if the weather's nice again I might not post at all - it's been a long winter and my vitamin D could use the boost and fresh air from the outside world...)
Okay... I've got space for 5 troops on this mission.
I'll be bringing Lt Femi Kumalo along, aka "Lights Out"... it's a risk to rely so heavily on this one sharpshooter (the next highest sniper in line is merely a Corporal with nowhere near the versatility), but this really is a high risk mission. For kit, I'll be equipping Femi with the Battle Scanner... it has two uses, and is how I've been managing my old (bad) habit of rushing in like a fool without knowing where my targets are. I simply cannot do that anymore. I may also alter his rifle, swapping out the Advanced Scope (+10% to hit) for and extended magazine (+1 round in the clip).
Next, we'll need a medic. Two candidates, both Corporals with exactly the same stats. I'm choosing Cpr Ross Price, as Cpl Yuan was on the last mission and she deserves a break (*cough* bad luck *cough*). Price will be packing the Medkit (obviously), but I'm not sure what to do with his rifle. A decision for tomorrow then.
I'm leaning on bringing both of my ranked Rangers on this one (both Sgt). One is specialized in melee combat ("Paladin") and the other is more suited towards stealth ("Buzzsaw"), but the close-quarters nature of the mission favours shotguns (which they both pack), and again, I'll figure out specific weapon tweaks before I go live.
The final space will be either my junior Grenadier or a second (also junior) Sharpshooter. Grenades are useful, but so is getting experience on the lower ranks. A deep bench can win games, as they say in basketball.
The only other thing to remember before I leave for the mission is to assign a "personal combat sim", another new extra in this game... Think of a nicotine patch that can have different (and permanent!) boosts associated with them... in this case, I've got one that can increase a soldier's dodge stat. That might've been helpful last mission during the bug-out phase... or I might've lost that useful piece of kit too, so now is not the time for spilled milk.
What it *is* time for, good people, is sleep. We'll catch up soon, and hopefully have some better news in the after-action report.
They say Hitler loved dogs; that doesn't mean I want to travel back in time and discuss the merits of the Border Collie with the guy. He's still an a-hole.