Let's Replay X-COM UFO Defence #07: Reflecting and Repreparing

[@dr_kav2k]

Tactics! New items! Tanks! ..okay, who are you and what did you do with Kiko?

[@Kikoskia]

Is it honestly that surprising?

[@gimok2k5]

It might be just a fad - if he fails spectacularly, then we know it's still Kiko.

[@dr_kav2k]

Kiko, you may need to adjust your sarcasm detector

[@Argonova]

Excellent use of smoke grenades and the tank Kiko!! There are a couple things to note that you might not already know: If you look at your soldiers health bar while they are in the smoke, you'll notice a tiny white bar inside the red that starts to get longer (by 1 point per turn) for each turn you remain in the smoke. When the bar reaches your current total health level, your soldier will fall unconscious. You can awaken an unconscious soldier with no ill affects by using the Stimulant in the medi kit. Soldiers (and aliens) in smoke get a massive defensive bonus, but it only applies when they on the same elevation level as the smoke. So a floater above the smoke will not get the bonus, and neither will troops on the skyranger ramp if you put smoke at the base. There are two mods that come with OpenXCom that I do recommend you consider turning on. "Improved Tanks" actually fixes tanks to be how they were intended by the developers. Tanks having only 70 time units was a mistake when the game shipped, they are meant to have 100, and it makes quite a difference in terms of their usefulness. There is also a mod to make it so that a grenade primed for 0 will explode immediately when thrown, instead of at the start of the next turn. This was also intended and can make quite a difference. Grenades thrown by aliens already function this way without the mod.

[@dr_kav2k]

> There is also a mod to make it so that a grenade primed for 0 will explode immediately when thrown, instead of at the start of the next turn. This was also intended and can make quite a difference. This disables the Hot Potato Relay technique though; you can't pass a primed grenade around anymore and can't correct throwing mistakes. > Grenades thrown by aliens already function this way without the mod. I don't think so. A grenade thrown won't explode until the end of the aliens' turn.

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

Also, while I dunno if this is a 'as intended' fix, but there is a setting that allows for radial explosions, which iirc do affect smoke grenade spread. So you can get a few extra elevations of smoke spread when those go off, and thus make it more useful for Skyranger disengaging.

[@GenuineLolotov]

In Xenonauts, alien grenades are instant, but they aren't in this game.

[@horaciogonzalez4284]

Yeah the rockets on the tank are cool, but what’s really great about it is you can use it as portable cover.

[@DirtyDandtheCrew]

No! Kiko, what have they done to you?! Smoke grenades? Tanks? Unencumbering Awesome Possum? Have you all no shame?!

[@tigernein2806]

Kiko, enjoying watching you play this, it's great. May I suggest targeting rockets at enemies with cover behind them rather than those in the air. If the rocket misses it will still hit the cover and damage them. Also, you waste some TUs turning when moving to a point with the computers chosen path, especially around obstacles. It can be more time consuming for you, but micro-managing the paths to move in straight lines can save valuable time units for your soldiers.

[@denubisx]

8:54 It may be wise to give the soldiers who can carry them extra lights on their shoulders so that they're never without light, even after throwing. And the different locations have different costs to access. According to www.ufopaedia.org/index.php/Inventory_TU_Table "The shoulder is best for small items. It takes the least time to get to hand (3 TUs). Before starting combat, put grenades, motion scanners, etc., here." 9:20 There are some interesting extra reservation options there over base Xcom. It looks like "j" has "reserve for crouching" (I think it's the furthest one and might be togglable?": I don't know what the first side selector does, but it may be worth investigating if it fits your playstyle. 10:19 One suggestion here is that it's always worth cycling through all your units when getting them out of the skyranger, since those extra TU can be kind of important later on? (Or at least considering it versus risk of grenade and known enemies, and so on...) 13:18 If this isn't a stylistic choice, according to www.ufopaedia.org/index.php/Controls_(OpenXcom), tab automatically swaps to the next unit (good for making sure you're not forgetting any units) and k "kneels" Those icons are *tiny*.

[@dr_kav2k]

1. Which is even easier with the fact that OpenXcom allows you to prepare that "at home" and remembers it. 2. The options are actually borrowed from TFTD; it has them in the base game. 3. It's also neat that OpenXcom maps cycling through soldiers to forward/back mouse buttons by default

[@eirianrobotto]

Kinda hard to believe a game like this existed in the 90s. Man...

[@JStankXPlays]

No one gets infinite clones like GASTON!

[@Kikoskia]

Typically, Gaston does not get infinite clones, sadly. The only person who is always assured more clones is Barry.

[@glubglub1911]

Thanks for bringing this LP back. I learned to code after watching your first one, because I wanted to play OpenXcom on my mac

[@ICountFrom0]

Tanky McTankFace

[@horaciogonzalez4284]

Nightwind292, later to be renamed David Blastenburrow.

[@timedraven117]

Hey Kiko, maybe you know, maybe you don't, but when you read this message, try sprinting, you can hold down control (Or is it Shift?) and your soldier will use less TUs but more STA. Its stamina consuming but you can use it for those very trying moments where TUs count for all they're worth.

[@nurkkapelaa]

Yey! Proper use for laser weapobry. Autoshots and making new routes through walls.

[@TechiRef]

Let's hope this Tank doesn't panic as much as the old one did!

[@mariosonicfan2010]

I think X-COM is a pretty cool guy. Eh kills aleins and doesnt afraid of anything.

[@USMC49er]

You're a Doctor! How do you not have a medkit?

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

Oh look! Tricorder! :D

[@DragDenDFO]

"Dammit, I'm a doctor, not a... normal doctor!"

[@jarrad2000]

I was anxiously waiting for my Sunday fix of Kikoskia let's play videos.... phew...

[@IamKjotleik]

A wonderful idea to play around with rocket-tanks. They can be super-useful in the right circumstances. I'm hoping for no just-take-a-snapshot-with-the-rocket-tank-from-behind-a-wall-ideas, though. It may be OK once. Maybe twice. But, eventually, it would not be so OK anymore. THAT would be too Kikoskiaic... (Oh, I've been there. Imagine having three or four soldiers behind the wall next to the tank.)

[@emilysong2000]

So Deekin has joined the X-Com squad...here's to hoping we get to hear his lovely battle song every time he tries to take down an alien!

[@BernddasBrotB7]

Dum dum duuum! Durium duuurm!

[@deatheven13]

"very slightly successful" Well put. That's about the best you can get until power armor. Minimally exceptional would also be a good description for most "successful" missions in X-com

[@Shaewaros]

Yey, Smoke Grenades! I'm in heaven.

[@TehCubey]

I tend to use two smoke grenades during deployment - one goes off inside (yes, inside) the Skyranger and the other right at the entrance ramp. That means your soldiers are in smoke and the aliens need to get really close to spot them, while the troopers can see what's outside the smoke cloud just fine. They'll take a little bit of stun damage but it's negligible. Also, may I suggest large rockets for Angel? Anyway doing good, keep it up!

[@sharkforce8147]

i personally prefer high explosives over rockets (even large rockets, which are much better than small rockets), but that's up to you :) as an added benefit, they don't take up as much space or weight iirc, and they don't require a launcher... and throwing accuracy early on is much higher than anything else. throwing is even super easy to train; just throw around a few lights at the end of a mission, back and forth :) edit: fyi, you can arm grenades way before you throw them. they won't go off while they're in your hand even if the timer runs out. this is particularly important considering that the main TU cost is in arming them. you can also relay grenades; throw them to a friend, then have the friend throw them. the last person to throw the grenade will get any applicable experience :)

[@JacksawJack]

I'm surprised you didn't call the tank Thomas.

[@LuderSatan1]

I always thought the art-work they used for alien alloys looked like an alien corpse: an elongated head, with an elongated eye, and then a cyborg body.

[@Arashmickey]

Bringing tanky along was a good move! Any shot the aliens take at it could have easily killed one of your operatives. Go Tanky!

[@BloodrealmX]

Naming a soldier Master Chief is rather funny since that's actually short for Master Chief Petty Officer (I'm guessing that in Halo they only ever address him as Master Chief instead of Master Chief [surname] because he doesn't legally have a surname; his name is officially John-117). This means that this man has two ranks! One from US Navy or Coast Guard structure and one from (I think) British Army structure! Welcome aboard, Private Rear Admiral! May you be not horribly mangled and killed! :D

[@K-o-R]

Aren't Medkits the magic money tree of choice?

[@shanadir]

For killing aliens, there is nobody who compares to Keith

[@ItsReallyPoofy]

The tank should be called: Thomas the TANK engine

[@mysticspace3369]

Weird, one the characters he names has my real name...

[@Ciekawostkioporanku]

:D NEW EPISODE!!! :D

[@thethegreenmachine]

I hope you add Minsc and Boo to the team eventually. Who pilots the tank? edit: typo

[@horaciogonzalez4284]

Yeah, the tanks in this game are remote operated vehicles, that’s why you never lose troops if the tank blows up.

[@thethegreenmachine]

That technician should get the experience :)

[@gawreluck]

why does the name deekin sound Familiar.....

[@dr_kav2k]

The kobold bard from NWN: SoU and HotU.