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Ohh, lul. Cool

Ahh crap...bad vibe...if you pile in my Sky Ranger remember to point your weapon down and have it unloaded. If not there is a crash axe aka attitude/mental adjustment tool within reach. No John Wayning grenades either.
Also remember to approach my aircraft from the rear and not the sides. We don't need you to FoD out my #1 or #2 engine. Well....
1. Remember to remove your reflector belt before boarding my aircraft
2. No pin on rank on the airfield
3. No Hat No Salute area
4. Nothing under the seats being they will collapse to help cushion your butt if we crash
5. Do not engage the enemy while in aircraft as we approach the LZ
6. If we crash stay in the aircraft unless you see the Crew Chief haul ass out the aircraft. Gather in front of the aircraft (12 o'clock) about 50m out
7. You are not part of the crew and you do not need to plug in our ICS

......more to follow

What if the E.T comes inside the Skyranger? Can we shoot them then?

I think we might need to use our knives...

 Trondheim wrote:
What if the E.T comes inside the Skyranger? Can we shoot them then?

You start putting holes in my airframe I punt you off my aircraft.....while in flight.....as the rest are eyeballs to eyeball(s) fighting and trying to slide 8" of cold steel into some alien flesh.Human Blood is NOT ALLOWED on my floor of the aircraft. Alien blood is allowed so get to STABBING while I swing this damn crash axe

 Jihadin wrote:

 Trondheim wrote:
What if the E.T comes inside the Skyranger? Can we shoot them then?

You start putting holes in my airframe I punt you off my aircraft.....while in flight.....as the rest are eyeballs to eyeball(s) fighting and trying to slide 8" of cold steel into some alien flesh.Human Blood is NOT ALLOWED on my floor of the aircraft. Alien blood is allowed so get to STABBING while I swing this damn crash axe

So say if a Mutton went all Conan and leaped into the Skyranger you want us to stab it I see now that you must be related to Norwegians

 Trondheim wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:

 Trondheim wrote:
What if the E.T comes inside the Skyranger? Can we shoot them then?

You start putting holes in my airframe I punt you off my aircraft.....while in flight.....as the rest are eyeballs to eyeball(s) fighting and trying to slide 8" of cold steel into some alien flesh.Human Blood is NOT ALLOWED on my floor of the aircraft. Alien blood is allowed so get to STABBING while I swing this damn crash axe

So say if a Mutton went all Conan and leaped into the Skyranger you want us to stab it I see now that you must be related to Norwegians

Holes in aircraft is bad being some sort of projectile was traveling at extreme velocity hit something vital to prevent the Sky Ranger from taking off. Leaving all of us stuck on the ground with some pissed off Aliens

Point taken, Il leave the whole aircraft buisnis to those whom knows more about flying such things than me, heck I am somewhat afraid of flying

Eddie azrael lay back and closed his eyes....

The turbulence in the Skyranger was making him queasy - at least that's what he kept telling himself. He also desperately needed to pee - except that he'd just been 5 minutes ago. He opened his eyes, and looked around from his seat in the crash netting that lined the interior of the cargo bay - at the calm serene faces of the rest of 1st Squad. "Don't let them down, don't let them down" he thought to himself, while breathing deeply and trying to get his fear under control. On his last (and only) mission he'd nearly bought the farm trying to keep up with the team, and since then XCOM hadn't been getting any easier - would ending back up in the med-bay he'd just left be the best he could hope for? He hoped to hell not.... and then the nausea crashed over him again. "This bloody 'plane.."

Eddie azrael lay back and closed his eyes...

May I humbly offer myself as a potential plasma bolt stopper for your elite military force? I'm housebroken and I don't eat much.

eddieazrael wrote:
Eddie azrael lay back and closed his eyes....

The turbulence in the Skyranger was making him queasy - at least that's what he kept telling himself. He also desperately needed to pee - except that he'd just been 5 minutes ago. He opened his eyes, and looked around from his seat in the crash netting that lined the interior of the cargo bay - at the calm serene faces of the rest of 1st Squad. "Don't let them down, don't let them down" he thought to himself, while breathing deeply and trying to get his fear under control. On his last (and only) mission he'd nearly bought the farm trying to keep up with the team, and since then XCOM hadn't been getting any easier - would ending back up in the med-bay he'd just left be the best he could hope for? He hoped to hell not.... and then the nausea crashed over him again. "This bloody 'plane.."

Eddie azrael lay back and closed his eyes...

Puke down your shirt. Trust me.

And remember the fighter pilot's prayer: "Lord I pray for the eyes of an eagle, the heart of a lion and the courage of a combat Skyranger pilot."

Which one of these designed the Skyranger: "If it’s ugly, it’s British; if it’s weird, it’s French; and if it’s ugly and weird, it’s Russian." - Yep, definitely Russian.

"The thing is, Skyrangers are different from planes. An airplane by its nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by an incompetent pilot, it will fly. A Skyranger does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the Skyranger stops flying; immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding Skyranger. This is why being a Skyranger pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot, and why in generality, airplane pilots are open, clear-eyed, buoyant extroverts and Skyranger pilots are brooding introspective anticipators of trouble. They know if something bad has not happened it is about to." - Skyranger Test Pilot

The Commander scrutinized the stategic overview, options running through his head. Transfer fighters to Russia? Maybe. The last few days have been good to XCOM, despite the losses. Perhaps we can salvage the Russian situation.

"Ma'am, you should get some sleep. Bradford was always looking out for her... not that he needed it. The Commander was beyond such petty concerns... but she admitted that it was nice of the Major to care. "Thank you, Major, I was just about to turn in." Did Bradford blush? No matter. He headed for the door.

"Oh, and Major?"
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"Send the Asian Air Wing to Russia. We're stopping this madness."
"Yes, Ma'am. You heard the Lady!" Bradford started snapping orders.

Maybe we can save Russia yet.

To Russia. With Love

In soviet Russia the extras terrestrial you!

In Sovijet Russia E.T is abducted by us!

OPERATION BROKEN MOTHER: UFO Abduction, Puebla, Mexico.
Interlude: Air War over Africa
"Alert! Alert! Raider Class UFO inbound! Alert!"
"Another one, we just got done shooting one down?"
"They seem particularly eager to die today. Let's oblige them shall we?" Captain "Puke" Shaw was always eager to tangle with UFOs. Everyone joked it was because he had the laser cannon. The eggheads kept promising more of them, but so far had failed to deliver. Dean Tompkins was off in Asia preparing to move the newly created (and as yet untested) Asian Air Wing to Russia to try to stop the figurative and literal bleeding going on there.


"Tarzan" Cordero sustains severe damage before breaking off his pursuit of the large alien craft.


Today was the day. He was going to splash his 5th UFO and become Earth's first intergalactic ace. He knew it... nothing would deny him. He red-lined his engines and kept on the Raider's tail even as the big ship spewed plasma cannon fire at him. Just a little closer.... just a little clos... THERE! Twin beams of red light streaked his craft and spear the alien power supply. The stricken UFO almost seemed to continue on for a moment, then listed lazily to the left and began it's long fall back to Earth. "Splash one Raider, Command. I do believe that makes five. Beers on the rest of the Air Wing Tonight!"



OPERATION BROKEN MOTHER, Puebla, New Mexico.
"Commander we have a problem. Captain Shaw just splashed a raider UFO over South Afria."
"Why is that a problem?"
"Well sir, The Mexicans are asking for help. They're eperiencing a number of abductions and their local defense forces are overwhelmed."
"Okay, send first squad to Mexico and Third Squad will take t he UFO."
"Sir, We only have one Skyranger operational at this time."
"Mexico first then"
"But what about..."
"They're not going anywhere. They have crashed in the South African bush. Keep the Air wing on high alert to intercept any rescue attempts."
"Yes, sir."
--Commander and junior officer Cavill. Operations Center

Even as 1st squad scrambles to respond to the alien abduction, Eddie Azrael is cutting off his cast and bandages and suiting up (I ran the clock forward about 4 hours to get Azrael out of sick bay for the mission). Elemental will have to miss out. Good news comes from both research and engineering.


The alien containment chamber is complete. Now we need to find a way to capture these monsters. Dr. Vahlen's crew of ethically questionable scientists comes up with the answer almost simultaneously.



Although all the discoveries heralded good things for XCOM, it would have no practical effect on this mission. Silver and Co. assembled in the launch bay. With so many of XCOM's finest in the sick bay, one of the Shiv's was pulled off exterior base patrol and sent on the misision.



The Squad dismounts the aircraft. If you look really, really closely you can see Crew Chief Jihadin yelling at them to get the #($& off his plane.


All is quiet initially. 1st Squad thought maybe the skyranger dropped them too far away. As the squad advanced through the delicatessen, they finally hear the tell tale hum of drones and Seekers. XCOM prepares to exact a measure of revenge for Killamajig.
"I don't know if Seekers are sentient, or if they have feelings, or if they're just automated killing octopuses. Personally, I hope they share a deep and interconnected family life so that they can experience the pain of losing loved ones - 'cause I want them dead."
--Eddie Azrael



The Seekers charge the rookie on the right. This is a mistake as they walk right into the ambush. Esubius draws first blood which sparks the most one-sided fight in XCOM history.





By the time the smoke clears, the Seekers are in so many pieces and 1st squad hasn't even expended any grenades. The squad can hear drones on the other side of the meat locker and prepare an ambush for them. Unfortunately, a soldier accidentally leans agains the overhead door button and raises the door. Everyone scrambles as drones and humans come face to face.



It's a tense minute as the drones are caught frozen - their combat algorithms can not decide whether to retreat of attack and LT. Silver makes them pay for it.



The rookie earns her stripes by destroying the last drone.


With the deli cleared, 1st squad takes shelter behind a truck while Cthulu Spy and Esubius Walrus scramble onto the roof.


Floaters make their presence known. Unfortunately for them. Esubius is waiting.


The last floater has taken up an overwatch position that leaves Eddie Azrael vulnerable. Line of sight issues makes it awkward for the rest of 1st squad to engage.


Finally, Silver is able to get a flashbang on the floater.


Eddie Azrael makes his kill.


With that the mission is over. Although Broken Mother would go down in the books as a routine mission. Nothing felt routine in the early days of June.


Although promotions would be sparse, the rookie is officailly added to the roster of the (much depleted) legion as an infantry soldier. Infantry along with snipers continue to be XCOM's greatest shortfall.


1st Squad also bring back a good haul of materials.



The Skyranger shut down for fuel, but even as the Skyranger pilots ran in to use the restroom and stretch their legs, Third squad was loading up for the downed UFO mission.

Glad things are going bad for the aliens.
The ambushes were a happy thing to see.

Ready to go! Looks like I get a laser after all and a little extra armor: you would think someone was planning for me to get a little more aggressively in the face of the enemy or something. With Stream looking covering my back, it is guaranteed to get interesting.

"Like the new armour, feels like you are wearing a lightweight tac vest but it shrugs of both kinetic and energy based impacts like water off a duck's back... Not that I want to stand around all day getting shot at at! It is just the shame we have so few sets to keep our soldiers protected." - Lt Silver on the new armour.

"We were all glad to see Azrael make it on mission, even if he was still pulling bandages off as the skyranger was blasting along to the LZ. The Commander made the right choice delaying zero hour so he could get discharged by medical, and he certainly pulled his weight once it all kicked off."

Sad to see 1st squad may have missed out on being on the starting line when the arc thrower comes online, but very pleased we are back on form in the combat zone.

 SilverMK2 wrote:
"Like the new armour, feels like you are wearing a lightweight tac vest but it shrugs of both kinetic and energy based impacts like water off a duck's back... Not that I want to stand around all day getting shot at at! It is just the shame we have so few sets to keep our soldiers protected." - Lt Silver on the new armour.

"We were all glad to see Azrael make it on mission, even if he was still pulling bandages off as the skyranger was blasting along to the LZ. The Commander made the right choice delaying zero hour so he could get discharged by medical, and he certainly pulled his weight once it all kicked off."

Sad to see 1st squad may have missed out on being on the starting line when the arc thrower comes online, but very pleased we are back on form in the combat zone.

Bradford looked over the accounting numbers again. He had a headache, and it wasn't just from the stimulants Dr. Vahlen was giving him. Even she was starting to balk at keeping him awake much longer. There was so much to do. The new armor seemed to be doing well, but it was SO damn expensive. The money wasn't so much the issue - but the stuff ate through all of XCOM's hard won alien alloys like his German Shepherd ate bones. Dr. Shen said his first few arc throwers would be up and running before the end of the month. Bradford knew the Commander was eagerly anticipating them. One would be okay, but two would be far superior. Three would be ideal. So much demand and no supply.

The unit manning roster was looking pretty bleak too... The Commander's email staying the disbanding of 2nd platoon made him happy for the troops, but it made properly manning missions a pain in his 4th point of contact. The Legion for all intents and purposes no longer existed. It was barely larger than one of the Dakka Corps squads (where did that name come from anyway?) What legionnaires did exist were of limited usefulness - either because they were critically short specialties like snipers or they were ones XCOM had in abundance like engineers. Bradford reluctantly allocated more money for 3 new recruits... if things went okay. He'd hold off on that decision for now.

The air wing was a disaster and a black hole where money went to never be seen again. Fuel, maintenance costs, repairs, pilot training. It was never ending. The operational readiness rate was hovering around 40%. The UFOs still largely owned the skies although now Major Puke Shaw was like a hyena worrying the edges of their fleet. The laser cannons alone were eating up almost 40% of XCOM's operational budget....

"Lt. Cavill, can you get me another coffee from the mess. It's going to be a long night."
"Yes, Sir."

Bradford rubbed his eyes and started the calculations all over again... Maybe if he only ordered 2 sets of phalanx armor...

Sgt_Scruffy wrote:


Bradford looked over the accounting numbers again. He had a headache, and it wasn't just from the stimulants Dr. Vahlen was giving him. Even she was starting to balk at keeping him awake much longer. There was so much to do. The new armor seemed to be doing well, but it was SO damn expensive. The money wasn't so much the issue - but the stuff ate through all of XCOM's hard won alien alloys like his German Shepherd ate bones. Dr. Shen said his first few arc throwers would be up and running before the end of the month. Bradford knew the Commander was eagerly anticipating them. One would be okay, but two would be far superior. Three would be ideal. So much demand and no supply.

The unit manning roster was looking pretty bleak too... The Commander's email staying the disbanding of 2nd platoon made him happy for the troops, but it made properly manning missions a pain in his 4th point of contact. The Legion for all intents and purposes no longer existed. It was barely larger than one of the Dakka Corps squads (where did that name come from anyway?) What legionnaires did exist were of limited usefulness - either because they were critically short specialties like snipers or they were ones XCOM had in abundance like engineers. Bradford reluctantly allocated more money for 3 new recruits... if things went okay. He'd hold off on that decision for now.

The air wing was a disaster and a black hole where money went to never be seen again. Fuel, maintenance costs, repairs, pilot training. It was never ending. The operational readiness rate was hovering around 40%. The UFOs still largely owned the skies although now Major Puke Shaw was like a hyena worrying the edges of their fleet. The laser cannons alone were eating up almost 40% of XCOM's operational budget....

"Lt. Cavill, can you get me another coffee from the mess. It's going to be a long night."
"Yes, Sir."

Bradford rubbed his eyes and started the calculations all over again... Maybe if he only ordered 2 sets of phalanx armor...

Logistics and supply problems are a big part of the difficulty in X-Com games; especially in this newest one. Dividing manufacturing time/resources between weapons, armor, satellites, and so on makes it tough to build a powerhouse force. At least in the first two games it was possible to exclusively arm your troops with captured alien small arms (once you had researched the tech, of course), saving your manufacturing time for stuff you couldn't buy or capture... The new X-com makes doing that a lot harder, what with alien weapons exploding when the alien dies. Of course, now that you have access to the one weapon that can take aliens down alive, you may be able to supplement your armaments with the odd captured plasma pistol or two.

squidhills wrote:
Of course, now that you have access to the one weapon that can take aliens down alive, you may be able to supplement your armaments with the odd captured plasma pistol or two.

So capture the aliens with the best gear??
Really looking forward to zapping a big green ugly and have him shrug it off and fire up his rifle.
Yep, little grey men look like the way to go or I will have to "know kung-fu":

 Talizvar wrote:
So capture the aliens with the best gear??
Really looking forward to zapping a big green ugly and have him shrug it off and fire up his rifle.
Yep, little grey men look like the way to go or I will have to "know kung-fu":

Well, I never said it was going to be *easy*, just that it would be possible. In the earlier games, there were weapons that could knock out aliens at range (and were surprisingly powerful for a stun grenade launcher) which made live captures easier. The new X-com doesn't have that. It has a glorified taser, instead (of course, so did the previous games). From what I experienced in my nearly-complete-but-ultimately-abandoned playthrough, the larger aliens need to be tagged once or twice with a light weapon to throw some wounds onto them before you try to tase them. Otherwise they shrug off the hit and then death ray you in the face.

The Sectoids do tend to go down in one hit, though.

Scuttlebutt was that the engineers were putting together some more sets of the new armour that had been developed. Silver was pleased that command had managed to find a way to squeeze a little more out of the overstrained war budget - hopefully the investment would pay back with soldiers spending less time in medical, and fewer in the morgue...

A second mission today will be up later. Third Squad has to complete Operation Empty Stallion ... or do they?

In Long War, the resource problems are bad.. .I'd say somewhat worse than in Vanilla XCOM: Enemy Within. Everything takes longer and is more expensive... you do get more money on a monthly basis though. I'd say that the resource problems aren't AS severe in Long War as they are in the early months of Enemy Within, but they are more drawn out.

Squidhills, I totally forgot to add an avatar for you. You will be in action soon though. *Makes mental note!*

June is shaping up to be a hectic month.

Hhhhmmmmm possible EPW.....eerrrr test subject......thinks of a scene





Time to add two stretchers
Couple rolls of 2" Hundred Mile Hour tape
Roll of 550 cord
Ratchet Straps
Non regulation Anesthesia device (Slugger Baseball bat)
Cattle Prod
Brass knuckles

Better check and make sure I still have two boxes of MRE's and two cans of water to

I'm thinking that our alien captures go more like this.



Our air war is going a lot like Independence Day as well at least the first half of independence day. Funny that movie is almost 20 years old. Makes me feel old.

OPERATION EMPTY STALLION: South Africa, 9 June 2014


Talizvar, Carlos, and Bullockist fast rope into the destroyed town in Northern South Africa.


"Raider Class UFOs are no push-over - even when shot down. They carry a substantial crew complement and we'll have to be on our toes.... okay everyone, we're on the ground and we'll start out goin... CONTACT!"
--StreamDragon, immediately after hitting the ground on Empty Stallion



Okay Okay... Muton and three(?) Floaters. I can handle this as I only used one action to activate them.


Both Floaters are swiftly dispatched before getting a shot off. The Muton is now our sole concern.
Carlos 13th hits the Muton's gun causing it to malfunction. June would be the month the snipers proved themselves the deadliest men and women in XCOM.


Sectoids are drawn by the sound of gunfire as the muton miraculously survives being in the open (StreamDragon, Comata, and Marine with Heart all miss 75%+ shots.... that's XCOM *sigh*).


Carlos13th annihilates the first sectoid in his sights


Legion 3 moves to flank on the sectoid's right.


Talizvar and Galia_Comata start what will become a great partnership as Talizvar find and flashbangs the errant Muton (He'd run off out of sight)


Galia Comata cuts into the besieged Muton.


The rest of the squad moves to intercept the incoming sectoids.


What is it with me and medics? Marine_with_Heart takes a fearsome hit. If Marine goes down, that will mean XCOM will be down to one medic


Legion 3 makes her presence known as she destroys the sectoid cover.


A wounded Marine_with_heart gets his revenge on the very sectoid who shot him.


Talizvar once again spots for Galia Comata and together they take down the Muton.


Sectoid reacts to being hit with scattergun fire from Stream Dragon


The last sectoid wisely decides to run for it.


The squad, having been in constant, high intensity contact now for the last 10 minutes pauses and reloads. Here Marine_with_Heart applies a tourniquet to his shattered left arm while downing his pill pack of antibiotics and painkillers along with the ... ahem... experimental battle stimulant provided by Dr. Vahlen


The sectoid tries to ambush Galia Comata.


He brings friends.


Talizvar takes the lead and wounds the sectoid and applies holo targeting.


Okay, so the next fight gets a little wonky with line of sight issues. If there is one thing I hate about XCOM, it is that sometimes the game seems way to arbitrary on deciding what I can and cannot see.
Stream Dragon activates the floater pod.


And Marine with Heart kills the first one


Talizvar bobs and weaves through cover to draw their fire.


Galia Comata is proving to be a great addition to the 3rd squad roster and he claims his second kill of the mission.


The Floaters fail to put up much fight as 3rd squad overwhelms them with firepower and their steady advance.


The squad at this point has had no rest and been in constant contact since the beginning of the mission. A couple turns pass while the squad regroups and reloads. Just as the last of the reloading is complete, 3 drones attack on the squads left flank.
Bullockist finally gets in on the action as his overwatch fire damages a drone


Legionnaire 3, the longest serving member of the legion proves that she is a deadly warrior in her own right.


The last of the floaters finally regains his courage and attempts to assault 3rd squad while they are dug in.
It does not go well


StreamDragon explores the wrecked Raider class UFO.


After properly setting up the breach, Stream Dragon is somewhat surprised that an Outsider charges him. The aliens are not making good life choices today.


A barrage of fire finishes off the Outsiders



Shame really. If I'd only been a little quicker on the arc thrower research. Anyway. Mission successful. 3rd squad may not have any fancy officers, but they are quickly becoming the best at the steady, stalwart advance.


The wounded Marine_with_Heart makes Corporal. Gains the name axle... not sure about that. Anyone who doesn't like their nickname feel free to choose it.
Legion 3 makes Corporal and is the first of the Legion to do so. She has now served longer than most of the Dakka Corps. The Commander makes her the Legion's official Centurion.

Marine_with_Heart now has the smoke grenade skill.


3rd Squad brings back a hefty haul of alien goods.


After selling what would not be useful to the cause, XCOM has enough money to start manufacturing two more sets of Phalanx armor. The Dakka Corps will need them in the days ahead.

I am so excited that each of the squads has their own character. 1st squad seems to operate a lot like the Ultramarines. They are good at pretty much whatever they do. 2nd squad is the Crimson Fists for sure. Bloodied, beaten, but unbroken, they now have an abiding hatred for the alien. 3rd squad is without a doubt the Salamanders. Stalwart, loyal, and equipped with the finest weapons and armor. They are also not the quickest squad. If I had to characterize fourth squad, they would be the Imperial Fists - loyal, stubborn and great at protracted siege style warfare. 2nd Platoon definitely has a Black Templars or Blood Angels vibe to it as they favor shock assault and close range combat.

Thank you all so much for participating in this thread. It is the most fun I've had with a video game for a long, long time. I appreciate it greatly.

Next time, join us as a wounded, but still fighitng 2nd platoon races into action against the traitorous Exalt.

On a slightly off-topic note, has anyone else had the mission name generator go insane? I had "Operation Vengeful Vengeance" earlier today, followed by "Operation Lethal Death". It would seem the Department of Redundancy Department is represented on the Council...

I've seen my name generator just... run out of names I guess. I have seen Vengeful Vengeance but not Lethal Death.