Let's Play X-Com: Terror from the Deep

[silencer_pl]

don't care Mr. Vampire. you can school me all you want.

wanna fight? lol!! errrh

 

 

dork.

 

Congratulations, you can now receive your usual Boot to the head.

[Zombie]

Well, good luck there Neptune. Hope everything turned out for the third part.

 

In part 2 I was cringing the entire time at wasting all that sonic cannon ammo on creating holes. See, that;s what DPLs are for. Had you picked them up in part 1 you could have blasted huge holes and opened everything up. It's too late now, but you should really get over your fear of using DPLs in enclosed areas. And really for part two you wouldn't have had any issues as using DPLs opens things up making it easier to shoot more of them. Kinda like a feedback loop. It certainly could have prevented the Tentaculat from zombifying your guy, or at the very least, you would have been able to get your tank into the next part. Though, with the lack of DPLs again, maybe that's a good thing as you will not be wasting as much ammo on creating holes.

 

Oh well.

 

- Zombie

[NKF]

I would have recommended relying more on the tank for shooting through walls considering the amount of ammo it packs. Leaving it stranded near the entry area was a bit of a waste of a valuable asset. You could have cut down a bit on the aquanauts running about in all directions by using the tank to scout ahead to clear up all the dead end rooms, since it doesn't tire as easily. No loss in leaving it behind in any case, as you wouldn't be able to get it very far on the final level with the state of your gear at the end of this video.

 

Once again, I felt the sonic cannon guys should have their drills at the ready. There were a few Lobstermen you bumped into that could have been quickly and efficiently dealt with.

 

- NKF

[Nookrium]

I would have recommended relying more on the tank for shooting through walls considering the amount of ammo it packs. Leaving it stranded near the entry area was a bit of a waste of a valuable asset. You could have cut down a bit on the aquanauts running about in all directions by using the tank to scout ahead to clear up all the dead end rooms, since it doesn't tire as easily. No loss in leaving it behind in any case, as you wouldn't be able to get it very far on the final level with the state of your gear at the end of this video.

 

Once again, I felt the sonic cannon guys should have their drills at the ready. There were a few Lobstermen you bumped into that could have been quickly and efficiently dealt with.

 

- NKF

 

I considered blasting my way through with the tank, but I remember you saying that it wouldn't be of any use for part 3 so I didn't really bother with it. Looking back on it I really should have used it to clear away the walls rather than using up my sonic cannon rounds (or DPL's would've work better too as Zombie suggested).

 

There was a few times where a drill would've been a wiser choice as well, I guess I just wasn't used to using them enough to remember to whip them out more often. They're such a powerful weapon, I wonder if someone could play through a full tftd game using just drills and no other weapons (after they get researched of course).

[Zombie]

I considered blasting my way through with the tank, but I remember you saying that it wouldn't be of any use for part 3 so I didn't really bother with it. Looking back on it I really should have used it to clear away the walls rather than using up my sonic cannon rounds (or DPL's would've work better too as Zombie suggested).

 

? The SWS would have been a tremendous asset in part 3 as it can cut through walls next to doors, widening it and making it easier to fit more soldiers through at a time as well as giving DPLs a little more room to maneuver. Plus its a great scout and has a super powerful sonic cannon on it which can drop those pesky lobsters quick.

 

There was a few times where a drill would've been a wiser choice as well, I guess I just wasn't used to using them enough to remember to whip them out more often. They're such a powerful weapon, I wonder if someone could play through a full tftd game using just drills and no other weapons (after they get researched of course).

 

Using just drills could probably be done, but you'd need to cherry pick which missions you accept and you would also need a fair bit of luck too. There are some maps where the aliens are spread so far apart that you would never be able to run up to them and have enough TU left to use the drill. Not only that, but if an terrorist is camped out on a higher level and refused to come down you would be out of luck. Mag Ion armor underwater would solve that, but what do you do if you don't have that armor yet?

 

You could employ some cheese tactics by waiting till turn 20 in which the aliens get a free look and will probably head straight for your ship. If everyone stays in the ship till that time they can all come streaming out with drills a runnin' and mow down the entire bunch. Or, if you are close to the alien sub, you could bum rush it and camp out inside.

 

- Zombie

[Nookrium]

Yes, you'll often have to abandon any tanks at the end of level 2. That's not a big loss since you are forced to abandon any tanks in the entrance area of level 3 due to a 1 tile wide doorway. To give them passage you'd have to use up lots of DPLs, as there are tons of 1 tile doors.

I guess I misunderstood, I thought the walls weren't able to be destroyed in level 3.

 

Using just drills could probably be done, but you'd need to cherry pick which missions you accept and you would also need a fair bit of luck too. There are some maps where the aliens are spread so far apart that you would never be able to run up to them and have enough TU left to use the drill. Not only that, but if an terrorist is camped out on a higher level and refused to come down you would be out of luck. Mag Ion armor underwater would solve that, but what do you do if you don't have that armor yet?

 

I'll be playing OpenXcom next, and I tossed around the idea of doing a melee only rule (plenty of mods that add things like swords and knives into the game). But that was the problem I ran into, too many flying aliens. I also play tested it and it also turned out pretty slow, it would be pretty interesting and fun to do, but lacking some excitement for an LP.

[NKF]

You could play it on an easier setting, as that will reduce the amount of enemies and UFO encounters and help speed up the game a bit. You're already upping the difficulty considerably by restricting yourself to melee combat. Flying aliens would still be an issue.

 

Instead of making it melee-only, you could allow yourself normal weapons but only as a last resort (a Floater refusing to come down off a roof for the last 20 turns) or just for making holes through walls.

 

I have tried the occasional Grenade Only scenario for UFO in the past, and while it is certainly great fun, it had the same issue the flying aliens being quite a pain since you can't target them in the air. I had to tweak the rule slightly and gave one person a laser just to deal with them. This worked, but I guess you could say it was no longer a grenade-only scenario.

 

- NKF

[NoXTheRoXStaR]

You should of used a negotiator to get him down from the barn NKF. When you've talked him down and or mind controlled him, you drop a few plasma grenades down and head for the hills. Course I know floaters are like the first or second alien you come across. So my advice is basically comical.

 

I've asked Mike if he'd do a Let's Play on Apocalypse. He has other ideas but has considered it, so I hope he does at least try it. As scary as the Chryssalids and the Tentaculat's are, IMO the Poppers are the worst! They have the capacity of fucking up your whole day whether you play in turn based or real time. Got a herd of Anthropods and you're so happy because it's like shooting fish 'n a barrel (then you notice their keen appreciation of explosives) and then like out of nowhere there's 4 poppers coming out of the woodwork and you haven't met the growling Megaspawns that you fucking know are revved up looking for a fight. Then you got your Skeletoids flying around, making the floaters look like chumps. Got your hyperworms hell bent on eating your face. Good times. I just might of talked anyone out of ever playing a "Let's Play" with that rant. Ha.

 

-NoX

[Nookrium]

I plan on getting to Apocalypse eventually, I'll probably have an X-com like game of some kind going on my channel for the foreseeable future, but I've had an itching to get an OpenXcom LP going for a while now.

I still haven't completely decided what I want to do with it yet. I've also thought of the grenade only idea, but again the flyers are an issue. I could bring 1 rifle and stash it in the skyranger just in case there's one that doesn't come down. I've also thought of having all grenades primed going into every mission, it might cause some interesting chain-reactions

What I've been leaning towards though is one of the big mods, something like "Piratez" or the "Final Mod Pack". Since I pretty recently finished the original game I think either of those would really change it up.

 

Oh, one other idea since I'm throwing them all out... The rule would be to use only the basic human tech (no alien tech allowed). The idea being we humans can't figure out how to safely deal with Elerium or manipulate the alien alloys so we're stuck with the basics. I've also considered throwing out laser weapons too but adding in some of the mods that add things like grenade launchers and sniper rifles.

[Zombie]

The all-human tech restriction seems reasonable. Personally, I'd keep the laser tech though. It may have seemed far fetched 20 years ago, but nowadays lasers are pretty common and easily understood... even though we still don't have hand-held laser weapons yet.

 

Have you thought about Xenonauts Neptune? I've been playing that for the last few weeks on and off and it's pretty interesting. My only gripe is you lose the game if 5 countries sign pacts. When 2 countries turned on me in a single month, I kinda gave the game a rest. Granted, I wasn't really going out of my way to do patrols in "hot" areas, I just waited for the game to give me UFOs to shoot down or terror sites to pop up so that may have had something to do with it.

 

Another similar X-COM game is UFO Extraterrestrials, I've played that before and it's pretty neat.

 

- Zombie

[silencer_pl]

For the explosives you can turn multi level explosion - that way fliers won't be any issue. As for Xenonauts, the game is interesting only for the first 1.5 part of the game, the other is being more tedious and repeating. There is no same level of excitment as in X-Com, also playing it without a certain mods is not worth it. I haven't been active there on goldhawk forums so I don't know what is up now in Xenonauts except patch 1.5, which is sort of what community version was back in the days.

[Nookrium]

The all-human tech restriction seems reasonable. Personally, I'd keep the laser tech though. It may have seemed far fetched 20 years ago, but nowadays lasers are pretty common and easily understood... even though we still don't have hand-held laser weapons yet.

 

The reason I'd toss them out is because it's not much of a challenge if I'd still use the lasers, on my initial playthrough I used lasers pretty much the whole way through, giving a heavy plasma or 2 out to the experienced soldiers. Using basic weapons only might be a bit of a nightmare (especially with cyberdiscs and sectopods), but with some of the modded things like Flamethrowers and chainsaws might be a lot of fun to try out.

 

 

I've been thinking about adding Xenonauts to the list of future LP's but after reading through Silencers AAR along with a couple other reviews I've been a bit hesitant. It sounds like it's a great game at the start but becomes pretty monotonous and grindy as the game goes on. I've been waiting for some mods or future updates to help it out a bit.

 

For the explosives you can turn multi level explosion - that way fliers won't be any issue.

That's true, I think you can go up to a 5 level height on them? That could definitely solve the problem, plus, it would make it a very destructive game.

[Veki]

... even though we still don't have hand-held laser weapons yet.

https://en.wikipedia...._response_rifle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzler_(weapon)

Non-lethal, but that is because it's designed that way. Technology is not an issue, I'm sure.

 

@Neptune

Good luck on 3rd level of T'Leth.

[Nookrium]

This is it... last part!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN_tOX7odWE&list=PL3Hfqo2_KOlfab7oDz4abWcCLAgMAA8Y0&index=68

 

Thanks again for all the help throughout the series, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it to the end without it.

[silencer_pl]

Congratulations, you've got us killed - how do you feel

[Nookrium]

Congratulations, you've got us killed - how do you feel

A little bummed that I never got Zombie zombied, but I guess getting vaporized will do

 

https://en.wikipedia...._response_rifle

https://en.wikipedia....azzler_(weapon)

Non-lethal, but that is because it's designed that way. Technology is not an issue, I'm sure.

 

https://news.discovery.com/tech/laser-weapon-stops-truck-in-its-tracks-150307.htm

I noticed this in the news earlier this week. not exactly handheld, but it qualifies as a laser

[Zombie]

Well, congrats are in order Neptune. I probably would have ran it differently (relying more on DPLs). Was this a conscious decision by you (ie, self-imposed restriction), or did you just not think of using DPLs after the first few rounds?

 

Anyhow, thanks again. A little over four months ago you started this series and I feel as if I'm going to be empty for a while (at least until your OpenXCOM Let's Play). Luckily OneFJef's Let's Play of Silent Storm is in full swing, and I'm still trying to finish your EU Let's Play. One of these days...

 

Yeah, I knew about that Dazzler non-lethal "weapon" for a while. That just doesn't have enough power to be effective. And Neptunes link shows why handheld laser weapons are still a fantasy... 10kW. That's 10 kilowatts folks, not just watts which is huge. (Imagine carrying a battery big enough to light 100 lightbulbs each 100W).

 

I like how they made it to be such an achievement to burn through a RUBBER hulled boat in 30 seconds. Wouldn't it have been easier (and faster) to shoot a normal projectile at it instead?

 

- Zombie

[NKF]

Great job making it to the end. Despite the ups and downs, you got to the end with no savestate abuse. Give yourself a big pat on the back for that. A most commendable achievement.

 

The final level is a bit of a let down compared to much of what you encountered throughout the game. In this, it seemed more a test of endurance. It is slightly more exciting on Superhuman, as you'd have faced some aliens in the large area that was fast forwarded through, and often one final nasty surprise by way of a tentaculat or two hiding in those little alcoves by the sleeper.

 

The not-enough TU/Energy thing you were getting is a bit of a bug with the map info for the doorway walls. It's like the coral patches that increase TUs/Energy for walking into them. Theirs is ridiculously high. Generally occurs when you try to take a long path past the walls and end up walking up to them. Not a major as a bit of trial and error can get you past them.

 

*rolls and fails a sanity check*

 

When you start OpenXcom, sign me up. Only this time Mr. Doublecheese is retiring. Mr. Badger will be up next. Bit of a mash up of The Wind in the Willow, Dungeon Siege and the Badger song there.

 

- NKF

[NKF]

IMO the Poppers are the worst!

 

They are, but you only need to set the Spanish Inquisition on them. Their chief weapon is surprise. They'll eventually torture it by strapping it to a comfy chair. Its little mind will not be able to comprehend what is happening to it.

 

As long as you know that they're coming at you and you've got some energy weapon on hand, a stun grapple does nicely, you have a fair chance of taking it down before it does any harm. If it wasn't for the fact that your agents automatically turn to look towards any nearby action, you could actually protect yourself quite well from them by having your agents in a circle and facing all directions to watch for their approach.

 

- NKF

[Nookrium]

Well, congrats are in order Neptune. I probably would have ran it differently (relying more on DPLs). Was this a conscious decision by you (ie, self-imposed restriction), or did you just not think of using DPLs after the first few rounds?

I really didn't see the need for them after that first group. Towards the end of the game I really became a fan of the stuns over the DPL's, mainly because the stuns can take down lobsters in 1 shot and the DPL's can't. Most of my front crew were pretty well equipped with a nice supply of those stuns.

 

The final level is a bit of a let down compared to much of what you encountered throughout the game. In this, it seemed more a test of endurance. It is slightly more exciting on Superhuman, as you'd have faced some aliens in the large area that was fast forwarded through, and often one final nasty surprise by way of a tentaculat or two hiding in those little alcoves by the sleeper.

I was a bit disappointed by it, I was hoping for a massive amounts of all aliens but it was really pretty thin. It ended up just being a casual hike most of the way through, and the final room just had a couple suicidal guards.

T'leth as a whole felt a bit off from the rest of the game. It needed some sort of unbeatable level 4 where you're stuck fighting off endless aliens while the ship is blowing up, the Terror from the Deep "Kobyashi Maru" equivilent.

[NoXTheRoXStaR]

As long as you know that they're coming at you and you've got some energy weapon on hand, a stun grapple does nicely, you have a fair chance of taking it down before it does any harm. If it wasn't for the fact that your agents automatically turn to look towards any nearby action, you could actually protect yourself quite well from them by having your agents in a circle and facing all directions to watch for their approach.

 

- NKF

 

I knew, I KNEW I should of checked to see if my agents were blind or not before I hired them.

 

Note to self.

 

Don't hire people who are blind & deaf who can't smell because of a stuffy nose. They won't see the the bomb coming, won't hear the those distinct footsteps of death and last but certainly not least. The smell of your comrades as they lay in a prone position smelling of burnt flesh.

 

Is it racist to only hire Androids? If so, I'm a racist.

 

-NoX

[Tsathoggua]

I don't know about androids, but in apocalypse, I only really hire hybrids and androids. At least the hybrids stand a chance against the psionics users, not that they are common at all. Those big tentacled things are a major threat to humans, not a good idea to let those bastard things get a line-of-sight on an unaugmented human, at least not without the mind shields active. Definitely best put down as quickly as possible. If not possible to do so straight away then at least set 'em on fire and give them something else to worry about than turning your troops' minds into mush.

 

And I don't see how something built, not born, can be termed, as such, a 'race', surely that involves the abilty to procreate in some fashion, even if its by cloning.

[magic9mushroom]

Would anyone be interested in me doing an LP of a Superhuman run with Council Funding Only? I've beaten Superhuman before; it's tough but I know the basic traps (early intercepts are playing with fire, make sure to get a dead and live Deep One in January, carry Tazers on every unknown mission until you get Sonics, get Displacers before June and use them as Tentaculat bait). But Council Funding Only is a step beyond anything I've done.

 

I'd be doing CFO via hacking PURCHASE.DAT to zero sell price for manufacturables and recoverables; manually destroying items or building a billion General Stores is just tedious.