2.5-dev play through

[ShipIt]

I was following the 'Let´s play' about UFO: AI that Trashman made over in the HLP forums. Also the guys there made a really great LP for the original X-COM and actually for TFTD. Really great stuff. 

As I finished my 2.4 campaign and will now start playing 2.5-dev anyway, I will try and do something similar. Simply play, share some pics and have fun. My spare time is somewhat limited these days, so I don´t expect this to go fast forward, though.

If somebody wants to share his opinion, please feel free to do so.  And, if somebody wants to see his name on the duty roster, just tell me and I will add him there.

Full campaign, Standard difficulty. For the start, I placed the base.



The first base. In case of an alien attack this layout is a pain.



I added a small hangar, so we can buy a second Stiletto Interceptor soon. The Stiletto I in the base gets a Targeting computer and a ECM device.
The soldiers suck. I am not sure about the new weapon attributes yet, but if I remember correctly, Heavy skill is not needed anymore. I will just equip them equal to their best skill for now. Hopefully the new month will bring better cannonfodder than that.
For now we have one guy with a Flame thrower (Close), one with a shotgun (Close), two Assault Rifle (Assault), one HMG (Assault), two Grenade Launcher (Explosive) and a Sniper. Everybody gets a Combat Armour, IR-googles, a medikit, ammo, grenades of all kind and a second weapon.

Scientists start to research 'Continuous Wave Laser Operation'. According to rule #7 they give no ETA for results.

We have plenty of money left after building a UFO-yard next to the HQ and buying all the stuff that is needed for the second interceptor. A second base should be placed immediately.
America North will take some serious time to get into business. Quarters next to the entrance first. Five days to go.

[ShipIt]

Due to some technical difficulties America North now looks even worse (Note: Save more often if playing on the bleeding edge of developement!)




We will have to deal with this.

Meanwhile our radar detected the very first UFO in this war. A good time to show our creditors we´re worth the money.



Stileto I was sent and shot the alien vessel down. 4000 credits gone for the replacement of the used Sparrowhawk Missiles and another 1200 for Shiva 20mm API Round´s. We will need to recover the UFO in order to turn a profit. Mission will take place near a small house.

The surviving aliens left their destroyed vehicle. The alien in front killed the civvi using a plasma grenade, also heavily wounding his mate.



Azibo Vyhodcev finishes the already wounded one off with a 5-round-burst from the Machine Gun. The other one is killed by two Frag Grenades, Thierry Zhang first and Marco Suzuki making the kill.



The improved range of the GL is incredible. Unfortunately one hit is not enough to push him off his shoes.



The alien, armed with a plasma grenade, had no chance to use Reaction fire. Marco Suzuki burns it with the Flame Thrower for his second kill.



Mission complete. No chance to save the civvie on this map.



Our UFO-yard is still under construction, so we sell the UFO to The Greater European Union for 8972 bucks credits a piece.

[ShipIt]

Another UFO pops up. The same type as the first one. Stiletto II was sent and the UFO crashes - next to a military convoy. Does not look like these GI´s will be of great help.



Two aliens are detected during the first turn. No longe range weapons, so our sniper can savely crouch in the mid of the place. The rest of the squad tries to get closer.

Aliens also advance. This one will never know if it is possible to jump down to the street there. Full Auto from the Assault Rifle of Femke Sivertsen is more then enough to send his soul back to the stars.



A new contact down the street. Wait, ... is this really gonna crouched over there ?



Not anymore. Now it is lying face down and as dead as a stone. The GL seems not only be able to fire over the whole map, he actually is also able to blow hostile visitors into pieces! At keast the unarmoured ones. Thierry Zhang got this one.



Wtf, 88% to hit over two squares?



However, it was a hit and a kill for Rehyaaz Olakuotu. Another dead body for the research team. Two missions, two different maps, no casualties, no losses. Maybe Standard is too easy?

UFO-Yard still not ready. UFO sold to United Amerika for 9002 credits (overall 44590). All workers are dismissed. Nothing to work on right now.
31.6% of research done for Continuous Wave Laser Operation. If this is done, I will research the Aerial Laser Canon. Hopefully we can build them and save the money for the Sparrowhawk Missiles and the Shiva ammo.

2084 March 31 - payday!

[Jon_dArc]

Wtf, 88% to hit over two squares?

"Snap shot" with the sniper weapons is now an emergency from-the-hip shot, not the short-to-mid-range accurate shot it was in 2.4.

However, it was a hit and a kill for Rehyaaz Olakuotu. Another dead body for the research team. Two missions, two different maps, no casualties, no losses. Maybe Standard is too easy?

Just how quickly do you expect to be losing soldiers?

~J

[ShipIt]

"Snap shot" with the sniper weapons is now an emergency from-the-hip shot, not the short-to-mid-range accurate shot it was in 2.4.

~J

It´s actually a Riot Shotgun.

Just how quickly do you expect to be losing soldiers?

~J

Usually pretty fast.

[Jon_dArc]

It´s actually a Riot Shotgun.

Oh.

Well then :oops:

(Though the Riot Shotgun's snap shot is even less accurate, with Crouch 1. I guess I should mention that to someone.)

Usually pretty fast.

Really? You only get 9 potential recruits on Standard difficulty, and although you do start two-thirds of the way through the month, either you have some secret for making nations happy fast or you only get a handful of additional soldiers, meaning that you're going to be dropping below a full complement if losses hit as quickly as you seem to be expecting.

~J

[ShipIt]

The incoming funds are used to pimp up America North. Screenshot taken using H-Hour´s new, upcoming User Interface the team is working on.



The Power Plant, Radar and a Small Hangar are under cunstruction now. If everything goes well, the base will be working within twelve days. Some money is preserved for a Stileto Interceptor and some equipment needed for the base defenders.

Seven new recruits are also available. Five are hired to defend North America in case the aliens get greedy. Though I do not expect this to be the case. Market runs out on grenades, Medikits and IR-googles as I order the stuff to equip the new soldiers.

Meanwhile, another UFO is detected near the Phalanx HQ. Same type as the previous ones. Two Sparrowhawks and one round out of the Shiva are enough to take this one down. None of the UFOs did return fire so far, they are obviously unarmed. Making this an easy job for the pilot of interceptor Stileto I. Out of bed, guys! Firebird I takes off to recover the UFO.

Bunker map. We expect three hostiles. Will probably not be easy to find them in this building.



Four teams. The Assault & Close guys go inside, while the GLs & Sniper watch the open area. First contact is made by Jon_dArc. Another one of the red/grey bastards, armed with a plasma grenade. Unfortunately he is to far away to take a shot with the Riot Shotgun. A nearby civvie army soldier makes things even worse. Jon´s teammate, Allison Zhang,  takes an Aimed Shot with the Assault rifle, ... and scores a hit over twenty squares! Damn, the alien survives.



Next turn another alien shows up next to the first one. Completely unarmed. The civvie/soldier hides around the corner, so we have a clear LoF this time. Still too far for Jon and his Shotgun. He takes two aimed shots with the pistol instead, scratching some paint off the wall nearby the small passage. Thierry Zhang takes a Timed Snap Shot with the GL. Fail. The grenade slips through the door into the room behind the aliens. Hopefully it did at least some splash damage. Femke Sivertsen and Allison Zhang both Full Auto the invaders with the Assault Rifle, the latter one scoring again and bringing one down. Meanwhile Azibo Vyhodcev and Marco Suzuki slowly advance on the other side of the map.



The alien advances near enough for Jon_dArc to take advantage of his primary weapon. 33% to hit, another alien corpse, scattered on the battlefield. Unfortunately he also scored a hit on Thierry Zhang. Femke Sivertsen gives First aid wit the Medikit. Those guys are not gonna be friends soon. More bad news - the civvie soldier did not hide around the corner, instead he was wounded to death on the hallway, out of sight from our soldiers. Now he dies, matrix style.

We detect the last alien, standing around the corner one floor below two soldier civvies. This one is armed with a knife. A huge knife. Allison Zhang takes a Snap Shot with the Assault Rifle but fails to hit. Soldiers avancing from all around.
Despite being shot, the alien does not move during his turn. Allison Zhang kills it with a 3-round-burst next turn. Mission complete.

We could store the UFO in our UFO-yard, but we will not have time to research it soon, so it´s sold to The Commonwealth of Oceania, gaining an additional profit of 9182 credits.

[ShipIt]

2084 April 7

Pilot of Stileto II just scored the second time as a member of Phalanx. The UFO crashed near a dam, now aliens are hiding on top of this hydroelectric power station. Despite the fact it being a night mission, half of the squad refuses to take off the sunglasses. We will have to change the duty regulations accordingly.



Ricardo Lehmann has his first noteworty appearence as our sniper, killing the first alien in his career with an Aimed Shot over thirteen squares during our second turn. The other two aliens meet in the upper right corner of the map (first pic). They always do this on that map. Again they only have short ranged weapons, so the squad quickly advances without the need to take cover at the end of the turn. At the time the aliens decide to take a stand, our troops have already reached the small building on the left side.



Azibo Vyhodcev steps out first. The hit estimate looks very promising. The 5-round-burst hits the alien in the chest, turning the inside out. One for the books.
Thierry Zhang takes a Snap Shot with his GL at the other one. After the dust has cleared it shows the alien still standing. Femke Sivertsen fires a 3-round-burst out of the Assault Rifle. At least one projectile hits, but it´s not enough to bring it down. Nobody else can get a position with a clear LoF. The alien uses his turn give us a great oportunity to get a pic from the smoke animation of the GL 25mm HIT Grenades.
Nope. Maybe next time. Thierry Zhang scores one more.

Three aliens killed, three civvies saved, no casualities, no losses.

Edit: UFO sold to Russia, 8624 credits.

[ChemBro]

I wish my playthrough went that variable (or so). I get almost always the same missions and besides the first "house" mission in your thread, I did not see the other ones. But most of the time the mansion or industrial complex (in 2.4).

[ShipIt]

I wish my playthrough went that variable (or so). I get almost always the same missions and besides the first "house" mission in your thread, I did not see the other ones. But most of the time the mansion or industrial complex (in 2.4).

There is a bug in 2.4 about the mapselection (bugreport and forum thread). To be honest, I think this bug is there for ages. In 2.3.1 the +city map was always shown in urban missions because of this bug. The same now happens in 2.4 with some other maps. H-Hour collected a lot of data from savegames to find out about this. It is already fixed in master by Mattn, but it was too late for 2.4. For sure it will be fixed in 2.4.1. Also, there is the 2.5-dev nightly build. 

Because you posted in this thread, you will take over for this 'Azibo Vyhodcev' guy, this name is just ridiculous. Welcome to Phalanx. I hope you don´t mind giving your life in order to save humanity.

[ShipIt]

UFO #5 looks different. It shows 'wings' and some additional spikes around the engines. Both interceptors were sent to show him the way - down to the ground. Surprisingly this UFO type is not unarmed, Stiletto I takes a hit during combat. Fortunately no critical systems are damaged.
The squad enters the Firebird.

Cemetery map. It looks, well, ... unfinished? At least there is enough room to lay the alien invaders to rest. Although this might not be so easy, those guys look like they want some serious fight.



Ricardo Lehmann is first in, killing the alien that was standing next to the dropship with a Snap Shot. The enemy in the upper right corner returned fire, a clear tactical blunder on my part. Fortunately it missed. Marco Suzuki managed to throw a Frag Grenade next to the feet of the alien in the upper left corner. The damage dealt was more than that whimp could actually take. The third one on the other hand took a hit from the 25mm HIT Grenade and survived. Because of all those civvies we cannot take another shot, so everybody takes cover behind the hedge, RF turned on. The alien uses the last seconds of his life to kill a nearby civvie, leaving himself without any cover.



ChemBro scouts on the left border of the map, while, invisible to the alien, Marco Suzuki prepares his GL. Rest in Pieces, alien scum.
(The range and the hit estimates are currently shown wrong for the GL. It actually was two squares less than shown on the pic, and chance to hit is much better than zero.)

Three aliens killed, 9/10 civilians saved, no casualities, no losses. UFO sold to United America, collecting 13142 credits. First plasma pistols recovered.

[H-Hour]

Sign me up for an assault specialist with an assault rifle that uses a lot of thrown grenades.

[ShipIt]

Sign me up for an assault specialist with an assault rifle that uses a lot of thrown grenades.

You are a lucky man, poeple like that are usually the core of my teams.

[ShipIt]

A Terror Mission in the United America nation.

After a flight of 14 hours (economy class) the squad now is standing near an old mine. (GLSL Shaders turned of for this pic)

An alien wants to shake hands and talk about peace, but instead gets hit twice with the 25mm HIT Grenade from the GL of Julia Kusmin. The Alien returns fire with a Snap Shot out of the Plasma Pistol. Julia takes a hit but the Combat Armour takes most of the damage, Marco Suzuki gives first aid.



Again the squad is split up. The Close/Assault are going down deeper into the mine, while the GL/Sniper cover the surface. ChemBro is sent to clear the small shed on the right, but runs out of TUs too fast. Looking through the window he reports the building to be clear. It was not. An alien hiding inside shots twice during his turn. First shot breaks the window, second shot hits Femke Sivertsen in the back. But again, the Combat Armour is good enough and she is only wounded. The Alien now is looking out of the window and turned is back to the door. A mistake, because ChemBro can now step into the building there without any risk. The 5-round-burst from the MG connects and the Alien is blown to pieces.

Meanwhile the rest of the squad advances. The Mine is a labyrinth, ups and downs, lots of corners. Jon_dArc leads the team deeper into this rabbit warren and makes another contact. A third Alien lurking on second floor.



We cannot get a LoF, and during the enemies turn the Alien vanished. Femke Sivertsen spots it again later on. She is at the beginning of her turn, nearly full of TUs. The Full Auto from the Assault Rifle ends the fight. (Note: I played a lot, campaign and skirmish. I know most of the maps and I like them all, because I know how hard it is to make a good one. But this Mine map is one of the very best imo.)

The UFO will get a nice, shady place in our UFO-Yard.

Edit:It was a night mission. In El Paso. I wonder how could the Aliens survive that long, during night in El Paso?

[ShipIt]

I had another system crash right after the mission. Does not look like a problem of UFO: AI, but more like my graphic card is about to die. I will have to replay the whole thing.

Edit: This time we killed four of them, but on the other hand 4/5 civilians on the map did not survive.