Let's all die horribly in our struggle against the Xenos!

[Hargrimm]

...also known as X-com: Enemy Unknown(or X-Com: UFO Defense)

And we need YOU, dear Escapists, to defend our dear Earth against the alien aggressors!

Here is how this works:

You sign up with a name(limit is 18 characters) and I will assign a random soldier to you.
If you die, just sign up again with either the same name or a different one.

You will also get a single character at the end of your Name to denote your job

(A) for Scout
(S) for Sniper
(G) for Grenadier
(I may use more than those over the course of the game and update accordingly)

And if I don't get enough recruits in the thread, I will simply draft you cowards as (C)annon fodder.

We also need a name for our first base

toss me some suggestions I will pick the one I like the most.


The version I will be playing is the DOS version with X-Com util for some bugfixes and convenience features like auto-assign equipment and nothing else.
This is also an ironman run on superhuman difficulty.



so, dear Escapists, ENLIST TODAY!

SUFFER NOT THE XENOS TO LIVE!

 

[FalloutJack]

snip

Sounds like a thread for forum games to me.

Hey, that's defeatist talk! Do it or the terrorists win!

Mwa ha ha ha haaa...

 

[Hazzard]

Signing, have someone called Hazzard!

For base name, how does Anti-Xenos place sound?

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

I entered this thread expecting it to be about the Colonial Marines. Turned out to be X-COM, and yet, not disappointed at all!

Even though it's a name that's possible within the game's own random naming system, I'm going to go with...

Wolfgang Gunkel (Grenadier)

The first time I played X-COM with my roommates at university, Wolfgang Gunkel was one of the random soldiers I took with me into my first battle. We didn't have a manual, I had no idea how to play the game, and I was failing miserably at it. But then along came Wolfgang Gunkel, who was able to single-handedly wipe out nearly all of the enemies on the map. He ended up sacrificing himself to take out the last three enemies with a hand grenade.

Since that day, I've been naming most characters Wolfgang Gunkel whenever playing a game that allows me to do that. For a while I was keeping track of their number... I think my Fallout New Vegas character was Wolfgang Gunkel XXIV... and operating under the assumption that they were all somehow actually related to each other. Whenever a game offered me multiple characters to name, I'd pull other first names from X-COM's German name list to pair with Gunkel, so in my Gunkel continuity he has two brothers, Dieter Gunkel and Gunter Gunkel.

Anyway... as for a location for our base... I dunno. Obvious choices would be various military bases or places like Area-51. I think in the original Gunkel game I placed my base at the Vatican for some reason.

 

[Muspelheim]

Sure, throw in a Muspelheim in there, when you get the opportunity. :3

As for a base-name... How about Basement Crab?

 

[Hargrimm]

snip

Sounds like a thread for forum games to me.

Hey, that's defeatist talk! Do it or the terrorists win!

Mwa ha ha ha haaa...

So, you guys gonna sign up or what?

Also, the Kotor Let's play has been stying in this forum for quite a while, that's why I put it here, but if the mods think it belongs in forum games, I will obey.

Spoiler

Signing, have someone called Hazzard!

For base name, how does Anti-Xenos place sound?

"Anti-Xenos place" is a bit... uncreative, no?
But if no better suggestions are made, we will go with that.

I entered this thread expecting it to be about the Colonial Marines. Turned out to be X-COM, and yet, not disappointed at all!

Even though it's a name that's possible within the game's own random naming system, I'm going to go with...

Wolfgang Gunkel (Grenadier)

The first time I played X-COM with my roommates at university, Wolfgang Gunkel was one of the random soldiers I took with me into my first battle. We didn't have a manual, I had no idea how to play the game, and I was failing miserably at it. But then along came Wolfgang Gunkel, who was able to single-handedly wipe out nearly all of the enemies on the map. He ended up sacrificing himself to take out the last three enemies with a hand grenade.

Since that day, I've been naming most characters Wolfgang Gunkel whenever playing a game that allows me to do that. For a while I was keeping track of their number... I think my Fallout New Vegas character was Wolfgang Gunkel XXIV... and operating under the assumption that they were all somehow actually related to each other. Whenever a game offered me multiple characters to name, I'd pull other first names from X-COM's German name list to pair with Gunkel, so in my Gunkel continuity he has two brothers, Dieter Gunkel and Gunter Gunkel.
...

cool story bro.
I'll find you a good grenadier.

...
Anyway... as for a location for our base... I dunno. Obvious choices would be various military bases or places like Area-51. I think in the original Gunkel game I placed my base at the Vatican for some reason.

I already picked a location somewhere in the Ukraine/Poland, because it provides the greatest coverage of funding countries.
We don't need a location, but a name for our(as of yet) last bastion against the the filthy Xenos invaders!

Edit:

Sure, throw in a Muspelheim in there, when you get the opportunity. :3

As for a base-name... How about Basement Crab?

sounds okay.

 

[WaywardHaymaker]

You can call me Wayward(A).

My vote is for the base to be called either River Styx or Gitmo.

EDIT: Seeing as the base is in Poland, Gitmo is the best possible name for it.

 

[teqrevisited]

I'll add one in.

Technically it's a name that the game randomly generates, but he was a true legend.

Viktor Ragulin.

The man who survived a blaster bomb to the face whilst only wearing personal armour and still had the balls to stun an alien leader for interrogation. The only man left alive from the original squad who made it to Cydonia and who stepped into the brain room alone and downed 2 ethereals before putting the second volley into the brain itself. Not only that but, due to a game bug, all of the squad's weapons were removed upon entering the second level. He had to mind control an ethereal and guide it into friendly fire to get his hands on a new gun.

 

[Hargrimm]

Looks like we might need some conscripts to fill our ranks.
The question is: who do we draft?

a) Escapist staff first

or

b) Forum users first

you decide!

I will start playing the game proper later today(it's 04:20 around here) and the first update will probably also be today.
Until then, you have time to sign up, vote and name our base.

I'm going to bed now.

 

[Ruedyn]

I'd like to be grenadier, plz. I liek when tings go BOOM!

Name would hopefully be King Boom-y.

 

[Hargrimm]

first update

Spoiler

Our first Base shall be... Gitmo

unfortunately, some idiot in management put some kind of liberal arts college dropout in charge of designing our base

it has no less than FOUR different entry points in the event that we get attacked(which WILL happen) AND no alien containment. How are supposed to fight our enemy if can't learn what we are fighting?

This has to be rectified

Much better.
We will have to wait a while before we can scrap our lower hangars.


Hopefully our soldiers are a bit more competent.

Hazzard is a pretty good shot. He will hang in the back and try to pick off our enemies from afar.(if he can actually hit anything with our cruddy equipment that is)

Muspelheim got a good throwing arm, unfortunately he can't carry all that much without overloading because of his poor strength(a curious combination), but his stamina makes up for it.
He is also one of our bravest soldiers, keeping calm when others lose their nerves.

Viktor Ragulin, this is a curious one. Says he is a veteran and has been fighting the alien menace for months now. He Even says he made it into the xenos homebase. Which is impossible since X-com hasn't actually existed until now and has, as of yet, never engaged a xenos or their craft in combat.
Our Scientists say that he may tell the truth and that the aliens might have something to with this, something about time travel or multiverse or some shit. Unfortunately, Viktor seems to suffer from some kind of memory decay, because he couldn't tell us any useful information about their anatomy, weapons technology or plans. pity.

Wayward, our best(and only) scout, who can also double as a grenadier. His job will be to scout and place proximity mines at chokepoints to allow our troops to advance (relatively) safely during missions.

Wolfgang Gunkel, an excellent soldier, his only weakness being his poor health. Like Viktor, he also claims to be a veteran, which might explain his poor health, because gunshot wounds and all that. Unfortunately he couldn't give us any good intel either.

ruedyn good strength, good stamina and a good throwing arm. What more could you want? ...well more bravery for one, I hope he won't chicken the minute our canon fodder starts biting it. While he is in a good physical condition, he still isn't very healthy :|, but as a grenadier, that won't be really necessary.(I hope)

Then we have our (C)owardly, (C)onscripted (C)annon Fodder? which consists of:

Matthew94
FalloutJack
Russ Pitts
Susan Arendt
Steve Butts
Greg Tito
Alexander Macrise
Justin Clouse

No pics for them, they won't last long anyway.

We start with researching medkits. Our Scientists initially suggested Laser weapons, but I have a feeling that the xenos have more powerful weapons than we could ever hope to develop in such a short time frame.

We also purchase some new equipment, mostly grenades(we will be using lots of those) and some flares.

Our base stats. Not much to brag about, we definitely need to hire more scientits once we get some more money.

We spotted a very small, very fast enemy craft. Probably a scout. Unfortunately we weren't able to shoot it down.

Reports show that the xenos are operating most heavily in southern Africa. We sent out the skyranger on patrol, but we couldn't spot anything.

But then, we spot another one over western Europe. This one is a bit bigger and slower.

We send our interceptors to engage but it gets away.

But Lady Luck smiles on us today and the UFO, instead of fleeing, touches down near London. This is the perfect opportunity to catch an intact alien vessel!

We send out our squad and they arrive before the xenos can take off again.

Let's hope we won't lose too many troops...

EDIT:

I'd like to be grenadier, plz. I liek when tings go BOOM!

Name would hopefully be King Boom-y.

Oops, I accidentally your's "ruedyn".
Oh well, when you die, you'll get another one named "King Boom-y" okay?

 

[Vrex360]

Considering I probably am the alien aggressor in question, I'll pass.

 

[Frankster]

Good luck with the LP, from the way you're starting your base it's clear you know what you're doing ^^

Sign me up for next wave of cannon fodder Ain't fussed which class due to low life expectancy.

 

[Noetherian]

I'm in for sniping if you haven't started up yet. glhf!

 

[Dandark]

Have a scout called Dandark

I also vote that the base be called "All our base!"

 

[Hargrimm]

Good luck with the LP, from the way you're starting your base it's clear you know what you're doing ^^

Sign me up for next wave of cannon fodder Ain't fussed which class due to low life expectancy.

Only conscripts get to be cannon fodder from the get go, so you might have better life expectancy than you think .(but probably not)

I'm in for sniping if you haven't started up yet. glhf!

Toss in Jakeinator in there as a scout.

Gonna see how many heads I can bat over here.

Have a scout called Dandark

I also vote that the base be called "All our base!"

Added you to the roster.
I already did the first mission, but the aliens have made some space for you.


Updatan!

Spoiler

When we last left our heroes, we were about to engage a landed UFO

We arrived in the middle of the night, which will make things a little more difficult for us

Before we risk our scout and other valuable personnell, we send out our cannon fodder to scout out and secure the landing zone

We are in the countryside, the map shows a lot of open field and two buildings.

I suspect that some of them are hiding in those. Proceed with caution.

We also throw some smoke grenades to conceal our approach.

AHA! I knew it! Matthew94 spotted an alien on the first floor and he takes the shot.

How about you try aiming at it stupid?

TRY AIMING AT IT, STUPID!

Finally.

We sent FalloutJack north to look for the UFO, and he spots another one.

ruedyn goes out to support him.

Meanwhile, Hazzard tries to shoot it with a rocket launcher, but can't get a clear shot.

Since it is standing next to a barn, he aims at the wall above it.

But not only does he miss, he hits the skyranger instead, injuring Wayward!
Some sniper you are.

Fortunately, Wayward is not terribly injured, and will survive for the next 22 rounds. This should be more than enough to get him out alive and into a Hospital.

Susan Arendt spots the enemy vessel!

We send out some more cannon fodder to secure the door

FalloutJack and ruedyn are still busy with the alien in the north.

ruedyn picks up one of our thrown flares to make them harder to spot.

Viktor Ragulin makes his way to the top of the barn we cleared out earlier to give fire support from above, should the xenos decide to sally out.

I bring some of our grenadiers closer to the vessel, to provide addiotional support.

Like smoke grenades

YOU MOTHERFUCKING XENO FUCKERS! THAT WAS ONE OF MY BEST MEN! (ノಠ益&#3232ノ彡┻━┻
Viktor got shot while getting into position. I didn't think the alien would be able to spot him in the darkness.
Goodbye brave soul! Even though you didn't get to fire a single shot, you were one of our most promising recruits.

FalloutJack gets closer to the alien to return the favor and takes an aimed shot...

Fuck.
Oh well, he was only cannon fodder anyway.

I order Wayward to throw a proximity grenade next to the alien.

Let's see him try to get out of this one >.

I didn't manage to get a picture, but the alien got killed by the proximity mine.
Matthew94 goes to secure the rest of the barn and ruedyn throws another proximity grenade.

Meanwhile, Greg Tito, Justin Clouse and Susan Arendt prepare to breach the UFO.

Shit.
Justin managed to stun two of them but has no more TU left and will do what he came here to do.
Get shot in the face and die.
Go Justin!

Next to be sent in are Susan Arendt and Alexander Macrise. Susan manges to stun one of them andgets killed, Alex takes a shot with his pistol, misses and gets killed as well.

This isn't working so well.

Now I am in a bit of a dilemma, I definitely want to capture the fuel cell intact(the glowing yellow tube), but I'm losing men pretty damn fast.
I don't think I have enough cannon fodder to overwhelm them, because our guns suck so much ass.
But if I use a grenade, it might destroy the fuel cell. This an incredibly valuable piece of technology, because examinig it will allow us to build more advanced craft which we need to effectively fight against the aliens. Also, they contain elerium, which would allow us to research and manufacture power armor.
If we can capture this intact, we can initiate a research "blitz" for the power armor, which will greatly increase the survival rate of our troops.

In the end, I decided that Greg should throw a proximity grenade into the UFO.

We are short on money and personnell right(because we had to redesign our entire fucking Base) and we will, hopefully, get more opportunities like this in the future.

It goes off and kills the last of the aliens.

success!

And the power source survived!
Strangely enough, we didn't get any elerium, but at least getting better aircraft is now only a matter of time.

Matthew even got promoted to sergeant. Good job!
If you keep this up, you might even lose your (C)annon fodder status and get to be a proper soldier.

We immediately begin research on the alien alloys to get some better armor.

Wayward goes to the hospital and won't be available for a while.

All in all, I would say this went pretty well. We only lost five soldier and only one that actually mattered!

Casualties:

Viktor Ragulin

[user]FalloutJack[/user]
[user]Susan Arendt[/user]
Alexander Macrise
Justin Clouse

 

[Zantos]

Are you still recruiting? I usually spend my time waging a campaign of unreasonable hatred against witchcraft, heresy and mutation, but I'm sure I can fit some xenos killing in there. Cannon fodder sounds good, I'm sure I can find some way to save myself with the mighty powers of urination.

 

[Hargrimm]

Are you still recruiting? I usually spend my time waging a campaign of unreasonable hatred against witchcraft, heresy and mutation, but I'm sure I can fit some xenos killing in there. Cannon fodder sounds good, I'm sure I can find some way to save myself with the mighty powers of urination.

I'm always recruiting.
The casuality rates drop only slightly later in the game, when you get better armor and medkits.
We will also build several bases all over the world, each of them with their own garrison to fend off attacks.