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2015/02/13 04:16:34
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
You should stop. You're making me want to play XCOM again.
Please stop.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh god, I have XCOM installed on my work laptop.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/02/13 13:58:56
DR:70+S+G-MB-I+Pwmhd05#+D++A+++/aWD100R++T(S)DM+++ Get your own Dakka Code!
"...he could never understand the sense of a contest in which the two adversaries agreed upon the rules." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
2015/02/13 16:35:37
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
Heck yeah, survived two missions so far. Guessing from the screen shot of me up, you're using randomized skill trees? I haven't tried the Long War mod yet, might have to kill my current game in progress and restart with that...
2015/02/13 17:36:09
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
streamdragon wrote: Heck yeah, survived two missions so far. Guessing from the screen shot of me up, you're using randomized skill trees? I haven't tried the Long War mod yet, might have to kill my current game in progress and restart with that...
Long War incoporates a total overhaul of the soldier sill tree system. There are "classes" each comprising their own two subclasses which all have unique skill trees. As an assault, you are basically the premier close combat soldier of the tactical class. Over the course of the game, assumung you survive, you will get skills like close encounters, close combat specialist, sprinter, and gunslinger.The other tactical class, infantry, specializes in mid range combat and buffs to overwatch. They will get things like opportunist, rapid reaction, steadfast, and light 'em up. You should check out the long war wiki for complete info on the mod
2015/02/13 17:41:23
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
Oh, for the love of.... Any idea how often I played this game?
Okay PLEASE sign me up.
Talizvar: White male, no facial hair, sandy-blond hair, pasty white skin Scottish ancestry.
Fine with whatever role the game assigns to me, I am pretty happy with all of them (Except big stomping cyborg dude: I am not the Robocop type).
Order of preference: Assault, Support, Heavy, Sniper.
Drinks Scotch after an engagement and is more scared before the drop than when in it (worst case thinker, but rarely surprised unpleasantly!).
Has a real aversion to grenades, likes non-consumable supporting hardware BUT medkits can be a big friend.
Why do I feel an overwhelming need to "copy-cat" this just to see how various members of Dakka do in the game?
A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets.
Napoleon Bonaparte
2015/02/13 18:18:30
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, panic abated. I haven't updated to enemy within on the laptop.
My salary is safe.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/02/13 18:18:59
DR:70+S+G-MB-I+Pwmhd05#+D++A+++/aWD100R++T(S)DM+++ Get your own Dakka Code!
"...he could never understand the sense of a contest in which the two adversaries agreed upon the rules." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
2015/02/13 19:00:11
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
Manchu - "But so what? The Bible also says the flood destroyed the world. You only need an allegorical boat to tackle an allegorical flood."
Shespits "Anything i see with YOLO has half naked eleventeen year olds Girls. And of course booze and drugs and more half naked elventeen yearolds Girls. O how i wish to YOLO again!"
Rubiksnoob "Next you'll say driving a stick with a Scandinavian supermodel on your lap while ripping a bong impairs your driving. And you know what, I'M NOT GOING TO STOP, YOU FILTHY COMMUNIST"
2015/02/13 21:48:01
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
Trondheim wrote:Looking good, nice to see that the figure that represent me is a steady shot. As I am too
I ended up putting you in the infantry because volume of fire is so important in Long War. Infantry can shoot twice if they don't move as a base skill - so far I believe you have the highest aim of any of the Dakka Corps.
Talizvar wrote:Oh, for the love of.... Any idea how often I played this game?
Okay PLEASE sign me up.
Talizvar: White male, no facial hair, sandy-blond hair, pasty white skin Scottish ancestry.
Fine with whatever role the game assigns to me, I am pretty happy with all of them (Except big stomping cyborg dude: I am not the Robocop type).
Order of preference: Assault, Support, Heavy, Sniper.
Drinks Scotch after an engagement and is more scared before the drop than when in it (worst case thinker, but rarely surprised unpleasantly!).
Has a real aversion to grenades, likes non-consumable supporting hardware BUT medkits can be a big friend.
Why do I feel an overwhelming need to "copy-cat" this just to see how various members of Dakka do in the game?
Welcome PFC Talizvar. I will try to meet your exact specs, but if I have no Scottish or Canadian men, you're going to be a random white dude.
malfred wrote:Wait, the long war changes the skill trees???
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, panic abated. I haven't updated to enemy within on the laptop.
My salary is safe.
Don't lose your job, Malfred! Long war changes everything. I'll take some screenshots as a kind of Soldier Career Management update.
Killionaire wrote:Good luck LPing Long War. I've had over 150 tactical missions in it... and I'm only ~60 percent of the way through!
I don't intend to do an in-depth mission for EVERY tactical mission - some will focus on more personal stories. Since everything is SO new the first month we'll go over it with a fine toothed comb.
Bullockist wrote:PFC Bullockist reporting for duty!
Definitely sign me up. I'm seriously thinking of installing long war, if only i could figure out how
It's surprisingly easy (I am not very computer savvy). http://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/? Make an account with nexusmods and this will automatically install the mod - assuming you have steam. WARNING: you will not be able to play Vanilla unless you uninstall the mod which is the mod readme tell you how to do. You will also not be able to play multiplayer.
2015/02/13 22:25:36
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
3rd Squad, to the ready room! 3rd Squad to the ready room!"
"That's us boys and girls! StreamDragon burst in, already in full gear (most of 3rd squad thought he never took it off). "We're going to kick some skinny gray butt!"
Archivists capture 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon receiving last minute details for Operation Brutal Stallion Note: PFC Talizvar is carrying the X-12C SMG - in common use during the early phases of the First Interplanetary War. It's reduced damage was compensated for by increased utility in close quarters and reduced recoil. SPEC Canuck is seen here carrying both a sawed off shotgun and a set of grisly trophies she had procured from a fallen alien. Veteran soldiers would frequently loot the war dead. Their grisly trophies reportedly improved morale among the younger troops.
NO CANADA.. .NOOOOOOOO!
OPERATION BRUTAL STALLION: Tijuana Mexico 0030, 15 March, 2015
"We'd all heard about Canada just as we were departing - Kamikaze took it especially hard. No one knew how or why it happened. Actually, I don't think we found out for several months. To be frank, I was nervous too. This was my first mission out as squad leader. I mean, everyone was new in XCOM at this point, but it's different when you are just following orders and shooting Allen (by this time, soldiers were trying out several different nicknames for aliens... Allen was a popular early one). When you've got 5 other soldiers relying on you, the pressure amps up.
I remember landing out behind a gas station and quikee-mart in Tijuana. I'd actually been to this part of town when I was in the SEALs back before all this blew up and I couldn't get this image out of my head of some Sectoid cruising Tijuana for coke and a donkey show. Seemed as good an explanation as any for why they were here. Anyway, We snuck in the back of the quikee-mart and found two of the creepy grey guys poring over what looked like my mom's Subaru. We caught them so off guard they never got a chance to shoot.
SPEC StreamDragon, SPEC Canuck, and PFC Talizvar surprise two Sectoids in an auto repair shop
"I was feeling pretty good. I sent Malf, Bullock, and Canuck up and around the roof to clear that out, but it turned out empty. Killionaire, Talizvar, and I all advanced. Things went pear shaped damn quick after that. Killionaire ran up behind a tow truck and ran into six of the little grey dudes. Did you know those dudes could shoot you with their minds? Because next thing I know I see these cuts appearing all over Killionaire and he's panicking. Of course I would too if the enemy could hurt you without even shooting you.
All of a sudden, Malf comes out of no where and lays downs the sectoid that had been pinning us down. This is the turning point. Killionaire recovers his nerve while Bullockist, Talizvar, Killionaire, and myself lead the assault. Malfred keeps the aliens heads down with overwatch and flashbangs while Canuck secures our right flank.
PFC Malfred displays his patented Blue Steel look moments before ending a Sectoid's life.
Members of 3rd Squad trap the last two sectoids between parked trucks in the closing stages of Brutal Stallion. Kamikaze Canuck is instrumental in pinning the aliens long enough for Killionaire, Stream Dragon, and Bullockist to complete the encirclement.
"Man, I couldn't be prouder of my soldiers. Killionaire took a mild grazing and the Doc insisted I get 6 days bed rest due to combat fatigue or some such. 3rd Squad was really coming together."
-- SPEC StreamDragon.
Squad Leader, 3rd Squad.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/02/15 00:41:49
2015/02/14 00:04:44
Subject: Re:XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
KamikazeCanuck wrote: CANADA NOOOOOO!!!!!!
God Damnit....It's all up to Nigeria now I guess..
I've noticed the ranks are very different in Long War. How do they go?
Well, Long War does things a bit differently rank wise. You rank up through the enlisted ranks.
Private First Class
Specialist
Lance Corporal
Corporal
Sergeant
Tech Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant
Master Sergeant
These soldiers, although their ranks are different, follow roughly the same progression as the vanilla XCOM. The big difference is officers. Think of officers like a separate class like MEC Troopers. Officers (as far as I know) stop ranking up in their class and start ranking up as officers. They provide buff to the entire squad and act more as leader than doers. Their buffs are things like improved XP gain, improved will, and improved defense for the entire squad.
One country randomly withdraws during the first month in every XCOM game. We won't find out why for some time yet.
I just want you guys to know that I am by no means an expert. I have only ever played a game of Long War until June. A lot of what I'm saying in regards to the overall game could be way off the mark.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2015/02/14 00:45:11
2015/02/14 01:14:41
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
KamikazeCanuck wrote: CANADA NOOOOOO!!!!!!
God Damnit....It's all up to Nigeria now I guess..
I've noticed the ranks are very different in Long War. How do they go?
Well, Long War does things a bit differently rank wise. You rank up through the enlisted ranks.
Private First Class
Specialist
Lance Corporal
Corporal
Sergeant
Tech Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant
Master Sergeant
These soldiers, although their ranks are different, follow roughly the same progression as the vanilla XCOM. The big difference is officers. Think of officers like a separate class like MEC Troopers. Officers (as far as I know) stop ranking up in their class and start ranking up as officers. They provide buff to the entire squad and act more as leader than doers. Their buffs are things like improved XP gain, improved will, and improved defense for the entire squad.
One country randomly withdraws during the first month in every XCOM game. We won't find out why for some time yet.
I just want you guys to know that I am by no means an expert. I have only ever played a game of Long War until June. A lot of what I'm saying in regards to the overall game could be way off the mark.
I hate you so much right now.
DR:70+S+G-MB-I+Pwmhd05#+D++A+++/aWD100R++T(S)DM+++ Get your own Dakka Code!
"...he could never understand the sense of a contest in which the two adversaries agreed upon the rules." Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
2015/02/14 01:43:54
Subject: Re:XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
KamikazeCanuck wrote: CANADA NOOOOOO!!!!!!
God Damnit....It's all up to Nigeria now I guess..
I've noticed the ranks are very different in Long War. How do they go?
Well, Long War does things a bit differently rank wise. You rank up through the enlisted ranks.
Private First Class
Specialist
Lance Corporal
Corporal
Sergeant
Tech Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant
Master Sergeant
These soldiers, although their ranks are different, follow roughly the same progression as the vanilla XCOM. The big difference is officers. Think of officers like a separate class like MEC Troopers. Officers (as far as I know) stop ranking up in their class and start ranking up as officers. They provide buff to the entire squad and act more as leader than doers. Their buffs are things like improved XP gain, improved will, and improved defense for the entire squad.
One country randomly withdraws during the first month in every XCOM game. We won't find out why for some time yet.
I just want you guys to know that I am by no means an expert. I have only ever played a game of Long War until June. A lot of what I'm saying in regards to the overall game could be way off the mark.
I hate you so much right now.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Interlude: Air War over Africa Part 2
William 'Puke' Shaw let out a string of expletives as he frantically hit the master caution again and again. Every time he hit it a new caution popped up. Fire, #2 Engine. Automatic Flight Control System - Offline. #1 Fuel Pressure light, Primary Flight Management System - Degraded - the news was bad and he was 300 miles from home. Of course, in the XF-105, 300 miles was about 10 minutes away. At 60,000 feet, he could probably glide the 300 miles if he had too. At first he'd been confident. He'd survived the first encounter with a UFO with not even a paint scratch. He hadn't bought a beer at the cantina for the last two weeks and by now, the UFO he'd shot down was 300 yards long. He and his Raven were the perfect melding of man and machine - at least according to the legend. Now, he and his machine were a plasma fused lump of metal hurtling through the sky at mach 5 with most of their systems on fire.
"XCOM Central, Raven-1. Declaring an emergency. Broke contact with Bogey 02. RTB at this time. Roll the fire response."
"Roger Raven-1." It was Bradford. "Hang in there. Raven 2 will escort you home."
"Negative Central, tell Rascal to go get the plasma shooting sunavawhore."
"Puke, this is Rascal." Tompkins was already up. You sure man? I mean, Candyman can go get him if you need someone to fly your wing."
"Rascal, go kill that sunovabitch! I softened him up for you so even you should be able to handle it.. let me get with the business of landing this fat cow."
"Ok, this is Raven-02, CM."
"What an ass." Tompkins thought as he engaged the afterburner and watched the airspeed climb. These new high-g suits made it feel like he was gently accelerating at sub-sonic speeds. Radar showed Bogey 02 340 miles at his 12 and fleeing westward out over the Atlantic. Tompkins accelerated and pursued.... and pursued. They were off the coast of Venezuela by the time Tompkins caught up with him, or more precisely, by the time the UFO turned and opened fire.
Radar Recreation of Dean "Rascal" Tompkin's encounter with UFO -02. Air Wing would be considerably less cocky in the coming weeks.
"Damn, but these guys were nasty, they really seemed to want us to fight them, because they would always get away as soon as they wanted to. It always felt like any kill we got was almost... a test. They were seeing how much they could take. They were seeing how quickly we could kill them. I wonder how man of those kills were honest - because UFO 02 just strolled through us and waltzed away as soon as he got tired of dancing." --Major Dean "Rascal" Tompkins
-- Raven 02
So, the air war is BRUTAL in Long War. You will be bombarded with UFOs. They will be tough. Your planes will spend an inordinate amount of time in maintenance. Sometimes, you just won't have any aircraft ready to intercept. So - you've got to prioritize. UFOs detected at NOE (nape of the earth) are super low and likely are inbound for an abduction. UFOs that are low are likely on a bombing mission or simply recon. You can safely ignore most of the time if you are hurting for interceptors. UFOs marked high are going after your satellites and absolutely a priority. I once damaged all my interceptors trying to shoot down a medium UFO and watched helplessly as my satellites in the United States and Mexico were nuked by puny little scouts.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2015/02/15 00:38:31
2015/02/14 03:05:52
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
KamikazeCanuck wrote: Can't believe Long War just automatically drops one country. That is brutal. There goes that potential continent bonus...
Oh no... I am afraid you are... quite mistaken... YOU GET TO TAKE THE COUNTRY BACK! FETH YEAH! That's right. You can regain control of countries that leave the council through base assaults. Yes... that' s plural on the base assaults
KamikazeCanuck wrote: Can't believe Long War just automatically drops one country. That is brutal. There goes that potential continent bonus...
Oh no... I am afraid you are... quite mistaken... YOU GET TO TAKE THE COUNTRY BACK! FETH YEAH! That's right. You can regain control of countries that leave the council through base assaults. Yes... that' s plural on the base assaults
PS - somehow managed to skip a council mission right at the end of march. Could have really used the experience. Panic in Asia shot up considerably, but nothing I can't recover from. The council screen popped up. I took a screen shot. I believe the dog then demanded to be walked. If my German Shepard accidentally costs us the planet I'm sorry guys. I'm a couple missions ahead and the squads are really starting to come together. Here is the current Order of Battle (current as of April 1st, 2015.
2nd Platoon
1st Squad (First in Your Hearts)
SPEC KAMIKAZE CANUCK (INFANTRY) Kills: 1 Sectoids, 1 Outsider. Missions: 2 (Blind Pipe and Brutal Stallion) Skills: Light ‘Em Up.
SPEC KILLIONAIRE (ASSAULT) Kills: 1 Sectoid Missions: 1 (Brutal Stallion) Skills: Run and Gun
VACANT (PFC)
VACANT (PFC)
VACANT (PFC)
VACANT (PFC)
As we being the second month, our training goals will be to fill advance at least one soldier to Corporal (most likely Silver MK2) so that we can begin the Officer Training School. Our absolute main priority is to have at least all five squads filled with Specialists, Lance Corporals, and Corporals. I want AT LEAST 35 Specialists and above by the time May rolls around. We've got alot of work. It's not as bad as it seems. There are quite a few regular troopers who have made it to Specialist who are not currently enrolled in the Dakka Corps. If we don't get much more interest I'm going to start naming them after famous Dakkanauts.
As an aside, I do apologize for not giving every Dakkanaut equal field experience. Long War really necessitates power leveling at least one soldier up to corporal so you can start accessing OTS. I really should have picked one guy or girl to lead almost every mission. As it stands, I'm somewhat slowing myself down by trying to build a squad structure.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/02/14 03:34:17
2015/02/14 03:51:05
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
Got a request. Can i get the crazy Guile Flattop and a goatee. brown hair of course and as a White guy? Can't wait to go out again and kick some Alien Ass.
Click the banner to check out my blog, and leave some feedback.
DIY 3450pts 1000pts
2015/02/14 08:31:04
Subject: Re:XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
oh! installation used to be incredibly complex and i gave up trying.
Dammit, i need to finish my mount and blade game! Stop making me want to play xcom again. Well whilst i am off bashing the d'shar at least i know my avatar is killing aliens (and probably dead soon).
Btw if you can change my avatar to being bald with a brown beard and glasses I would appreciate it.
Me and trondheim are off to bitch about the other specialists and how they look down on us grunts
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/02/14 08:32:24
Manchu - "But so what? The Bible also says the flood destroyed the world. You only need an allegorical boat to tackle an allegorical flood."
Shespits "Anything i see with YOLO has half naked eleventeen year olds Girls. And of course booze and drugs and more half naked elventeen yearolds Girls. O how i wish to YOLO again!"
Rubiksnoob "Next you'll say driving a stick with a Scandinavian supermodel on your lap while ripping a bong impairs your driving. And you know what, I'M NOT GOING TO STOP, YOU FILTHY COMMUNIST"
2015/02/14 09:54:25
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young."
OPERATION ROTTING SERPENT: Leeds, United Kingdom. Alien Abduction
4th Squad (Motto: Go Fourth, and Multiply) Got the call for this mission. It would be SPEC MOTYAK and SPEC TRONDHEIM leading a pack of new recruits into Leeds.
The pre-mission photograph was quickly becoming a tradition with XCOM squads.
XCOM SOP was rapidly crystallizing by the end of that first month. Every squad needed a mobile soldier to quickly flank enemies and develop the situation. SPEC MOTYAK filled that roll. These flankers would be given ligther or shorter ranged weapons like the XCOM shotgun or the X-12C SMG. They would be given the lightest armor available, but would also be provided with the light weight ceramic plating. Their preferred grenade would be a flashbang. Every squad additionally needed a steady core of fire support. Generally the most accurate soldier in the squad would get the job of pulling the entire squad out of the fire if things got tough. SPEC Trondheim was allowed to take the alien trophies since it seemed to steady him in tense moments (alien trophies grant the Steadfast ability). His job would be to travel at the center of the line and lay down both accurate fire and provide overwatch for the rookie as they advanced. XCOM rookies were usually fielded as makeshift field medics and hauled the explosives on the early missions. Utilizing both the kit and the grenades was similar enough to whatever their equivalent military had done that it provided a good point of reference in the heat of combat. As the alien menace grew, the call for experienced soldiers grew more intense. The Commander knew that the days of sending green troops into battle were quickly drawing to a close - he needed to get as many of them trained as possible.
ROTTING SERPENT actually turned out to be a fairly quick mission. One of the rookies was injured quite badly, but she managed to patch herself up. Here you see 4th squad make first contact with 2 sectoids early in the mission. Note MOTYAKs SMG and sawed-off shotgun equipped in the bottom right.
Disaster almost strikes as a rookie takes a fearful hit early on in the encounter.
Moments after Trondheim finishes off the second Sectoid, 3 drones emerge from the dark to engage. Advancing on Trondheim is... unwise.
Note the 1 with the little shield icon in the above picture. Drones have built in damage resistance which makes them a pain in the butt to kill in Long War. Usually, they also fly which grants them half cover (half cover is greatly improved in long war and now provides 30 defense. Flanking, steadying your shots, and holo-targetting are all much more important.)
2 More sectoids would make an appearance, but they would largely walk right into a wall of fire and were quickly dispatched.
Another day, another successful mission as Bradford so often said.
Trondheim and Motyak were quite proud of themselves. All their rookies were now specialists and both of them were on the cusp of making Lance Corporal. The Commander briefly considered giving Trondheim his own squad but decided to keep at least two of the Dakka Corp together for all missions. April was coming and they would need all the help they could get.
Back at HQ, Dr. Vahlen was furious that her science team was not being given the support she felt they deserved. They had studied the alien weaponry all month and made several improvements to XCOM weapon accuracy.
The Commander saw hee problem and decided to build a new laboratory. The issue would be getting scientists to man it (Labs no longer supply scientists in Long War. You usually get them through continent bonuses, countries being supplied with satellites, and by fulfilling requests). Our bigger issue was the lack of alien weapons fragments. Our scientists were quite sure they could outfit us with laser weaponry within a month if we only could get them a few more materials. The Commander considered this his top priority.
Engineering had better news, our first two satellites were operational. Although tempting to cede to the demands of the larger council nations, The Commander knew (especially after UFO -02) that he could not defend satellites on other continents. South Africa and Egypt both received satellites. Egypt was incredibly grateful and sent two engineers as a reward.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Interlude: Air War over Africa, part 3 "The Candyman Comes"
Morale was low in the XCOM airwing. Puke and Rascal were both out of commission for the time being. Puke actually had plasma burns on his left leg and Rascal's ship was shot all to hell. Tarzan and ... wait what? I have two Candymans in my air wing. UNACCEPTABLE. Stingray missile Candyman was told to go get a new nickname while avalanche Candyman was given the vector to intercept another small UFO labeled UFO 03.
Luis "Candyman" De Caxias recounts his mission. "When I got airborne, the UFO was over coming in hot over Morocco. Our intercept vector went all to hell as the UFO kept changing course. Finally, I intercepted him right over Lagos. his first shot hit my left side wing and punched a hole right through it. I knew I would lose him quick so I locked on and just unleashed every missile I had at once. Most flew off course but one must have hit something pretty important because the thing nosed over and plunged into the city. Not bad for my first time out.
I was so freaking relieved that Candyman managed to do this relatively easily. The stingray equipped ravens are great for punching through armor but they kind of suck at taking down lightly armored scouts and I didn't want to cripple my airwing. Additionally, shot down UFOs are THE best training missions. The enemy pods are usually smaller than normal, and you know that your biggest threat (the outsider) will be in the UFO so you can save him for last if you choose. Also, this mission should give me the experience I need to get Silver MK2 and Elemental up to Lance Corporal before April rolls around. I thought I wasn't going to get another mission in March, but by the time De Caxias was landing, I was singing the Candyman's song.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2015/02/15 00:37:30
2015/02/15 00:30:35
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young. Now with 100% More DEATH!"
OPERATION BLOODY WHISPER: Lagos, Nigeria 30 March 2015
Throughout the early part of the war. 1st squad, 1st platoon set the example. Under the sure hand of Silver MK2 and her second Elemental, ever mission was an unqualified success. Some squads thought they got high profile missions where resistance was light, and thus, their detractors named them the Glory Squad. Operation Bloody Whisper was the genesis of that reputation. It was an undeserved reputation. 1st Squad faced outsiders, drones, and sectoids - just like the other squad in those first months - they simply did better. The Commander, eager to get all of his troops experienced, stripped 1st Squad of all but it's squad leader and assistant for the operation.
SPEC Elemental recalls the approach to the downed scout craft. "It was methodical. We kept expecting the aliens to have set up a perimeter around the UFO like they had on the first shoot down. As it turned out, we were right at their front door before they showed their face. If they'd come from two directions we might have been in trouble, but SilverMK2 kept the rookies aimed at the right targets. Even the engagement was methodical. I never felt like the situation was out of control."
A closer look at what the Outsider is capable of.
First you flashbang 'em.
Then you kill them
Three drones and three sectoids decided came to reinforce (in Long War, as soon as you engage the Outsider all aliens in the map start homing in on you). The engagement was so short and one sided I only got one photo.
It was XCOMs first flawless mission and provided a huge boost in confidence for all in attendance. Silver MK2 and Elemental were the first soldiers to make Lance Corporal.
Almost immdeiately the month ended and the Council convened. Overall, they were pleased although the back room furor over XCOM's failure to respond to the first direct request from the Council almost resulted in the Asian nations withdrawing entirely. The ramifications of that failure would play out over the coming months.
So, as I've said before, I don't know how I missed that council mission. It spiked the Asian panic levels to a point that I can't afford. I had hoped to cover North America in satellites next, but with Canada gone and Asia panicking I had to change priorities. April is an interesting month in Long War. You'll get introduced to Thin men and seekers and generally you find yourself behind in the research game. Hopefully by month's end we can be churning out laser weapons. Only time will tell. I think my overall grade for the month is either a B-/C+. I've shot down a fair number of UFOs but I've also let a couple escape. I've leveled up a fair number of soldiers but I still have a lot of rookies. The good news is everyone is alive. The bad news is that they are unlikely to stay that way for long unless I can get some serious research going.
2015/02/15 09:12:49
Subject: XCOM: The Long War. "We were XCOM Once.... and Young. Now with 100% More DEATH!"
Glad to see Glory Squad showing how things should be done.
You laugh, but in Long War the Officer Training School is for just that -training officers. You can make it all the way to Field Commander - one step above Colonel which is (at least in the US military) a general.You've got a ways to go though - we don't even have any NCOs yet.
DIY 3450pts 
1000pts 
