Let's Replay X-COM UFO Defence #10: By the Numbers... Mostly

[@TehCubey]

Sadwick: "Well, she's dead. Am I next now? Will this suffering finally end?" /gets shot, is completely unharmed "Of course."

[@crowsbridge]

Ha, reading it with sadwick's whiny voice makes me giggle

[@Kikoskia]

It is my hope that one day this scene is immortalised in some art.

[@AdriRaven]

I think it needs to be animated like some of your other stuff. The person who does that is excellent at it.

[@UnclePutte]

Nothing quite like a nice cup of tea and a few clips of kikoskia's adventures in alienland on a fine sunday afternoon. Very comfortable.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

UnclePutte And if not watching, then re-watching. Feels good.

[@supastar4784]

I actually think that the real terror begins when X-com squad lands and starts dispense explosives left and right

[@gigaslave]

Needs more Autocannon with HE rounds

[@oz_jones]

+Chris Goh when in doubt, level everything

[@rolandpahi3079]

Like Palpatine would say... (with disgust on his face) : "All of them..."

[@White_Tiger93]

I will say this, this game, good ole' gems of XCOM is absolutely fantastic! I don't why, but I'm enjoying the old XCOM than the modern XCOM games lately, there is so much depth in this one.

[@dasher98765]

Most armor in the game (human and alien armor) usually has the front armor (the way your soldier is facing) the highest value compared to say the sides or back. If your soldier gets shot at the back, they are less likely to survive than to say if they got shot in the front, keep this in mind as this can save a soldiers life or able to kill late game alien units in heavier armor.

[@MinscFromBaldursGate92]

Don't fear the reaper.

[@shopkeeper1416]

Fear not, soon my ballad shall begin, and the alien menace shall be no more.

[@boredwarlock5216]

Base and a terror mission? I am loving this LP series! Also loving the Cthulhu case, keep up the truly fantastic work and THANK YOU

[@Argonova]

Excellent use of tactics Kiko. You've improved so much since those early Let's Plays of years ago. This game is amazing. There are so many different ways to play it, there is no fixed right way. Why can't they make games like that now days?

[@SNESJW]

I was watching his terror from the deep let's play the other night and I couldn't believe it when Kiko recklessly shot and killed one of his own soldiers in the back on the second(?) mission. Best part was when he shifted the blame to the soldier for having bad aim!

[@sraaju]

I used to slightly overburden my troops at loadout. I think it ups their strength. My SubZero had over 200 time units and could outrun a Chryssalid across half the map than stun batton him in the face. I stopped my playthrough when he got over 255 TU and it reverted back to 0.

[@gimok2k5]

"Ultimac Wat" should be your third base - the way you said it when wondering for the 2nd base made it sound like a real base name. And having Engineers produce stuff in the second base just for selling stuff would also be a good idea, I'd say - it gives you more money and counters some of the maintenance cost of that second base (plus more profit).

[@Kikoskia]

That's a good point about the engineers in the second base, though it'll take a little while to get to the point where I can build the workshop. When I get a chance I will do, however.

[@maledwarfwarrior]

Noob here, how practical would it be to make a base with nothing but the essentials, a workshop, a garrison, and as many engineers as you can cram inside it? Essentially a large fortified munitions plant that sells to anyone & everyone fighting aliens.

[@robikz]

@Venser's Prodigy, that would be very practical.

[@Bluecho4]

Plus, if your secondary bases are devoted to manufacturing bulk items for sale, you can concentrate your main base's researchers and engineers on creating specific items you need at any given moment.

[@JindraAG]

@Venser's Prodigy: Not just pratical it almost comes up as essential. Such a base can essentially fund your entire operation.

[@robikz]

Viable tactic for open areas is to move one soldier forward as a scout while his mates remain positioned about a screen length behind him. When the scout sees an alien, shoot that alien with the soldiers that have stayed behind. The idea here is that the alien will be out of the line of sight for those soldiers and vice-versa, so they will be able to shoot it, but it won't be able to fire back with a reaction shot.

[@starvingpoet81]

Just discovered your channel, these are great!

[@SinbadNaiver]

18:56 *kiko calls his soldier Kirby, Zthen Nintendo immediately proceeds to take down the video because it's one of their franchise names*

[@DinnerForkTongue]

I'm having quite a bit of fun watching this LRP, Kiko. Just wanted to let you know 😊

[@ArmaCustos]

Good thing collateral damage isn't in consideration

[@DinnerForkTongue]

ArmaCustos Imagine if infrastructural compensation was a negative on the score...

[@Rellana1]

Indeed as some x-com players proceed to level any and all buildings as a alien just "might" be hiding inside. Also large petrol stations make a excellent bang when hit by He of any kind.

[@Arashmickey]

Wow, that's a lot of craters to fill and stuff to rebuild

[@oz_jones]

IIRC it was a mechanic in the third game, but it has been years.

[@Bluecho4]

In many ways, Xcom is as much a propaganda and public relations war as a military one. You're constantly having to prove to the world - and, more importantly, their governments - that you are a worthy investment. Especially when those same countries could have just allocated those same funds to beefing up their own military. And people tend to pay more attention when lives are lost, rather than property damaged. Moreover, it's difficult to prove efficiently whether property was damaged by Xcom forces or by aliens, so it's harder to get riled up over it. Lives lost, however, are always considered a failure on Xcom's part, and thus are a public relations nightmare.

[@veagervictory4747]

So proud of you. Good job on the mission. I can't wait to see what happens next with the alien base. :) Good Luck!

[@jarrad2000]

I'd suggest manipulating more of the terrain. If there a hedge blocking the way or a wall, just make a hole. Eg you could have flanked through the building instead of moving along it's outside.

[@jarrad2000]

I hope this isn't typical German behavior but one of my strategies was using lots of incendiary and high explosive ammunition to "smoke out" the aliens, especially on maps with grain fields or lots of trees. I also liked to throw one of those huge explosive packs through the windows of the buildings, just in case an alien might be hiding there...

[@George-nn8ui]

I think xcom abomination had poison gas?

[@Ixnatifual]

They all float down here.

[@thatguyontheright1]

Am I the only one who builds extra bases early, just to have more radar coverage, then fill them out later?

[@SilencerGDA]

This replay is only missing the sniffles. Then it would be a true replay ;)

[@marcocappelli2236]

Silencer What about the goatee?

[@SilencerGDA]

Marco Cappelli you got me there

[@marcocappelli2236]

Silencer Remember he would have a goatee he'd scratch now and then? It was a while back...

[@SilencerGDA]

I think I begin to remember. Well you can say whatever was during the sniffles period.

[@randomusernameCallin]

For my second base I also add building and selling items to it.

[@K-o-R]

4:00 Reasons to be fearful... 1, 2, 3.

[@JStankXPlays]

Oh, the placement of that hanger!

[@Kikoskia]

The base is never going to get big enough for it to really matter.

[@sylvnfox]

I always used my tanks for scouting, move forward and any aliens spotted would shoot the talk then my soldiers would move up and kill the aliens. I only fired with the tank to either open pathways through terrain or to kill aliens as a last resort

[@USMC49er]

3:25 Quite the moment

[@SNESJW]

That civilian is *absolutely* responsible for Nico's death.

[@SinbadNaiver]

11:24 actually, kiko, you're mistaken, that reaper is Unconcious!

[@FateJHedgehog]

I notice that Kiko seems to be saving two of each his non-UFO recovered artifacts, like the corpses here. Saving one for research is obvious, but is there a reason for the other one?

[@Kikoskia]

You never know when I might sell one of the corpses I need for research by accident. Having a second one just in case that happens hardly hurts.

[@anoh2689]

very fun :D

[@Rellana1]

I don't suppose X-com has the option for mixed terror missions,like for instance Etherreals and Sectoids together,like in the X-com books?

[@Kikoskia]

Not that I Know of. Even if there was such an option in OpenXCOM, I wouldn't enable it. The options I did enable in OpenXCOM were general quality of life changes intended to alter the bare minimum of the actual gameplay experience.

[@dr_kav2k]

You can have a Mixed option in a custom one-off Battle, but short of mods there's no such option for the campaign play.

[@Rellana1]

That's probably for the best as some combinations of aliens would make things more than interesting for the player.

[@oz_jones]

+Rellana1 chrysallid and cyberdisk terror missions ftw

[@karlmason7985]

Xan I'm almost certain that a mod is out that gives mixed alien teams. Pretty sure I've played it, maybe the aliens have manipulated my mind.

[@poppers7392]

Build a friggn radar in your new base.

[@Kikoskia]

That comes in time. I don't want the radar to be right next to the elevator as that puts it in harms way if the base were to be attacked.

[@Trollami]

The true Heroine is yet to appear. Barbie!

[@gimok2k5]

We also have a serious lack of Keith.

[@sraaju]

Ahh, make her a psychic and mind crush all the aliens.

[@npiper]

Niko miiiiight have lived if you had moved her up to the wall since a square of smoke from a rocket is 1/3 of the cover of a square of smoke grenade. It's not much but it was more than poor Niko got.

[@deathnotehell1]

Good news XCOM has saved you from the aliens. Bad news, they also blew up your house using very expensive military equipment because they didn't feel like walking around.

[@Ciekawostkioporanku]

If you use stunrods on civilians they will be spared by the aliens, so freezing civilians is a good way to save them :D

[@DarkOrderSolDjango]

XCOM: Police edition.

[@emilysong2000]

*sings* Awesome Possum Kicks Serious Floater Butt! Awesome Possum: I'm awesome! Also, I'm amazed that Awesome Possum has managed to survive for this long...maybe if he's really lucky, he'll make it all the way to the very last mission of the game (if Kiko manages to get to that point) and help his comrades win it all! *hopes that she hasn't just jinxed poor Awesome Possum, thus having him die in his next mission*

[@Thentavius]

Awesome Possum dies horribly to Chryssalid Butt! Awesome Possum: BLARGHBLBLBLBLBL

[@thrythlindone-shotgames967]

I've been noticing your soldiers seem to see the aliens and stop a step or two before they have a line of shot. So when it says no line of fire, maybe you only need to step forward once and then you have it.

[@GhostDr3amer]

Have you considered stunning the civilians so that they wouldn't go running off face first into a reaper?

[@Kikoskia]

Time spent stunning the civilian is time that could be spent finding said reaper so that you can shoot it in the face, stopping them from killing other civilians. What's best for each situation depends but in general, you have to go into terror missions knowing that you're likely not to save many of the civilians no matter what you do, if only because some of them are too far away to save.

[@GhostDr3amer]

True. But it's gratifying that it is an option, especially when you save a civilian after they become overwhelmed with the urge to go kiss that chrysalid.

[@dr_kav2k]

Indeed, for a snakemen terror mission this may be a valuable option.

[@Kikoskia]

That's a whole other ball game and a bridge I'll cross when i get to it.

[@George-nn8ui]

Maybe Mr Freak out won't block the door if stunned and you can have cover 😃

[@Ciekawostkioporanku]

Kikoskia I have a big request...I was one of your first fans nearly a decade ago...can you play "X-COM: Terror from the Deep" next?

[@Altronza]

Hey. I know its been six days since this video, but I just had a thought. Have you played X-com Apocalypse or Terror from the deep? -I was just thinking it would be cool to see and I haven't found it on your you tube channel.

[@MultiVince95]

Brilliant

[@SNESJW]

Things seem to be going brilliantly. Taking less risks is really paying off for you. One thing though: did you forget to build the radar system for the second base, or are you just waiting on it?

[@SNESJW]

I thought about it for a minute, you're probably waiting on the general stores to finish so you can build rooms adjacent to it.

[@Kikoskia]

That's indeed correct. I want to create a bottleneck so defending the base is easier.

[@thethegreenmachine]

Where did that captured reaper get housed?

[@TehCubey]

That's what the alien containment is for.

[@thethegreenmachine]

@TehCubey I thought he hadn't built one yet.

[@FateJHedgehog]

@thethegreenmachine It just wasn't finished being built the last time he needed it. It's the mostly open room to the far right in Tyrian.

[@nurkkapelaa]

Are Interceptors equiped yet Kiko?

[@Edgewalker001]

What's *in* a name?

[@BirdRaiserE]

Ultimac Killsaliens

[@Tailas444]

Why not research/use heavy plasma rifles?

[@Kikoskia]

My research has other priorities at present, plus they are mostly superseded by heavy plasma which I will be researching in time. Laser rifles should be sufficient for the time being.

[@Tailas444]

Good point. Watching your recent X-COM videos has inspired me to try playing again as well. So far, it has not gone nearly as well as your current play-through.

[@Kikoskia]

Be prepared to lose a couple of times as you get used to how the game works. It's a rough learning curve the game presents and while it's not entirely possible to always come out on top, you'll get better the more you play.

[@Tailas444]

Definitely. I've played the game before many, many times. This last time however, on the first terror mission I went to, there were 4 floaters visible from the Sky Ranger before I even got off of the ship. They killed more than half of my squad in the first 2 turns.

[@Kikoskia]

That sounds a lot like the very first mission of this playthrough, just with a far worse outcome.

[@sharkforce8147]

psh. grenades? you want high explosives man. grenade: 50 damage. high explosive: 110 damage. (for comparison, small rockets are 75 damage, large rockets are 100 damage, tank rockets are 85 damage, and alien grenades do 90 damage. grenades and small rockets have an explosion radius of 4, tank rockets are radius 5, while alien grenades, high explosives, and large rockets are radius 6. for further comparison: laser pistols do 46 damage, laser rifles do 60 damage... so a grenade is only slightly better than laser pistols, which often require 2-3 hits to kill weak enemies). you don't want to be using some lame excuse for an explosive, and nothing beats high explosives until you get to blaster launchers :) that said, they do require a fairly decent strength score to throw them very well... but still, grenades are for suckers. when it comes to explosions, you don't want half measures :P

[@SNESJW]

Grenades have a weight of 3 while high explosives have double that. I see grenades as something to just give to your soldiers as backup in addition to the rest of their gear because they're lightweight. Of course, for somebody that can afford to carry and throw them.. Yeah, probably a great idea to have, honestly. Priming and throwing an explosive takes almost your entire turn anyway in this game so you're right: might as well make it count.

[@sharkforce8147]

well you prime them early when you're not doing anything more useful :) (just, uhhh... make sure you don't die with a primed grenade. unless you're trying to hand deliver a primed grenade through a door or something.) and 6 isn't that heavy. there are several people on his skyranger that could easily pack one into their equipment, including the potential to replace the rocket launcher entirely :) 40 strength to throw it effectively is the real kicker though. you kinda have to fire all unsuitable recruits and replace them to get people with that much strength (kind of like the way most people seem to do once they get a chance for psi-soldiers, recruiting way more than they need and firing everyone that comes out with low psi).