Six months and still kicking

[WolfP]

And I am playing on normal. 1st month saw an entire team, desert wind, breeze, high pressure area or whatever the hell it is, and transport craft lost. This was due to a misdrop on what I think was a base instead of a landed UFO. Morale was at an all time low. So, bought a new plane, bought a new scout car and rethought my approach. #1 lesson learned...never, ever go into a mission at night. Wait for the daylight, otherwise you'll find yourself zapped by green goo without respite and without being able to strike back.

Month 2, still doing poorly, did build a second base however. Didnt bother expanding it at this point, continued working on the primary base and expanding research cap and production cap. Somebody please explain why I cant sell my laser weapons for more than it costs to build. Is there a laser boon that I am unaware of and they have flooded the market? Sheesh. Anyway, by the end of the month, am down to two effectives and deficit spending. Have to rethink the business model for the short term until I get troop strength back up. New ROE promulgated...we only attack shotdown UFOs, we only attack those that are of scout size, and we stick close to the desert thingy with four wheels.

Month 3, things are getting better, have a couple of troops that have been promoted but still suffering 25% to 50% casualties per mission, this doesnt include desert air current losses which Im replacing at such a rate, I dont know if the vulcanized rubber industry can keep up with tire requirements. Got a couple of new troopys...they suck. Dont these people lift weights? Also, I am thinking a planetwide procreation program may be in order...these folks obviously have other things on their minds than producing next gen troopers.

Month 4, still losing 25% to 50% but strength is sufficient enough to warrant going after bigger game, i.e. downed fighters. Stupid snakes, how many shots does it take from a laser carbine to get to the juciy center...this world may never know. But seriously...alot. I keep running out of grenades, the factories cant keep up with the chuckage factor. Silly aliens, have taken over one of the countries...now I know exactly where they are. Still deficit spending.

Month 5, the good, I have tanks...loverly tanks, spitting DU death from a distance. Now watch the little buggers scatter. ROE change due to troop strength improvements. Am now able to field two full teams and a tank that goes clickity clack. Tactics remain the same, stick close to the tank, let him find the bad guys, let the boys shoot at the bad guys, let the boys miss the bad guys, the tanks got their backs. Very upset with the boys in production. Gotta nice new, shiny laser cannon for the troops. They forgot to include in the users manual that it takes Superman or the Incredible Hulk to lug this thing around the battlefield. Have tried to get the heavy weapons guru roided out and plussed up with missions but the bad guys seem to understand my intent. They have developed a heavy weapons specialist seeker round that puts him down every time he steps off the plane. Means more time in the infirmary and less time in the weight room. SupOs griping about wasted space in the warehouse due to the dust gathering on the uber lasers o doom (not my name for it, the boys in production figured it would improve morale). Bought another base but am still deficit spending. Suprise of my life, the cats down at central have given us a good rating for the month. Must have been all the kills by the airdales that put us over the top. Think my name is on a plaque as employee of the month.

Month 6, still chucking and fighting. Losses have been reduced to an average of 25% per mission. Have had a couple where we have conducted a clean sweep with no casualties. Still cant use the uber laser o doom dammit! Tanks starting to show its age and I think its squeeking just a little louder these days. Another country falls to alien domination, but not to worry, I have 3 bases to their two and in the end, he who has the most toys wins. Oh yeah, got a good rating and my name on the plaque for a second month in a row. I wonder if they give bonuses? Sure would help me dig myself out of this financial hole I have dug.

Stay tuned for more news from the front...

[WolfP]

Month 7: Well, we are still taking approximately 25% casualties. You tell these kids to make sure they keep their heads on the swivel and sweep around the aircraft once it has landed, but do they listen...no! That's ok, if life has to teach you a few hard lessons by leaving you a sieve, then so be it. At least they'll know better next time. Boys in R&D finally cooked up a las cannon for the attack craft, makes pretty colors. Also makes a mess of bad guy fighters. Havent lost an a/c since mounting them. airdales continue tussling with the bad guys on a frequent basis. If the jackasses would only learn to shoot them down over land, it may make funding this little adventure a might bit easier. Still havent seen anything bigger than those clover lookin domahickeys. Finally got me a heavy weapons troop that can lug the big gun. She...that's right, I said she...hails from some mountain hamlet the next county over. Shotputist and discus thrower I believe. Says her family is of Eastern European descent. They sure make em big. First couple of times out, she drilled fist size holes in anything that dared peek around a corner with the uber laser o doom. Finally motivated my sick bay commando to get off his bum and start working out. He built enough muscle to lug the big gun as well. Both are laid up now due to a failure to check six while zipping around the corner of a grounded soup bowl. R&D also figured out what the skins of the bad guy craft are made out of. Said they can cook up a new zoot suit for the troopeys to play cowboys and indians in that provides a leetle more protection than the Reynold's Wrap we currently wear. Money continues to be an issue. You would think with the world in danger, the boys down at central would be more persuasive about the need for buckshish. Had to make several salvage runs on downed craft just to keep the gears turning from mid-month on. Due to this, we're now down to two effectives which forced the cancellation of Operation Dig Dug. Scouting mission managed to locate an alien hole up in the mountains (said they would have missed it if they hadnt picked up a Snake on infras outside the entrance smoking a butt; who knew these clowns smoked). Assault was set for the end of the month, but it looks like the good people of Patria will have to wait a while longer for deliverance. Fitreps arrived with excellents across the board and a fresh influx of cash. Now we can buy that shiny new fighter we've been eyeballing.

Until the end of the month

[MillerTime]

Great AAR, Wolf! LMAO; very humorous writing style. Keep it coming.

[princep01]

Heehee.  It always seems to boil down to money.  The bean counters and pointy headed economists have inherited the planet.

[WolfP]

The latest and greatest from the front...Month 8:  Well in like a lamb, out like a lion is very appropriate.  Although normally only applicable during the month of March, this one was a real humdinger and deserves special recognition.  On the first, the bugs got a little too cocky by taking another province, and, to add insult to injury, on the continent we call home.  Just wouldn't do and the OPT was immediately called.  From this Operation 'Bitch Slap' was born.  D-Day was set for the 10th, as we didn't want to give the bad guys anymore time to dig in, and the docs needed a few more days to patch leaks before we could push the carrier out the door with a full compliment of heartbreakers and lifetakers (except for Helga; she's damn good with the ULOD, but kinda homely).  Initial concept by the OPSO called for a HALO insert, until the 4 pointed out that we don't have parachutes.  Apparently, there weren't a lot of Chinese immigrants during the colonisation, and those that did come, left the silk worms at home...crap!  So, back to the standard...hard and fast hot insert followed by dustoff and RTB for Miller Time.  While waiting for the sick bay commandos to nurse their boo boos, I gave the troopeys some make work to do.  Besides trying to find me some frequency grease and a 1000 ft of flight line (god how I love the new kids), I kept them busy out on raids to keep the do re mi rolling in.  The eggheads finally managed to come up with something useful in the form of a nerve agent.  When asked if it would affect the troops, I was told it was perfectly harmless to humans.  A letter of condolence has been forward to Private Tentpins family, along with his pay arears, and a medal.  The investigation surrounding his death has been completed and forwarded on to the boys at Central.  Apparently, its not a 'harmless' to humans as we were at first led to believe.  A new policy has been implemented forbidding the practice of charging through the dispersal area to get to grips with the bad guys.  Gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet I suppose.  D-Day finally rolled around and we went in loaded for bear.  Funny thing, we should have loaded for elephants...they were freakin everywhere.  The one armed bandits were in such a hurry to get to grips with us, we ended up hedgehogging in the center, hurling grenades and lasery death in every direction, finally resorting to foul language when we ran out of those.  It was a close run thing, but we managed to pull it off, only losing Helga to a problem with a blind corner and piss poor peripheral vision.  SOP for all base assaults will have all troops carrying two extra mags (I got me some trigger happy monkeys that can't hit diddley), vice the normal one, and all the grenades they can pack.  If they don't come back with lower back pain, then they did something wrong.  We didn't collect any booty, but the boys at Central were kind enough to shunt an extra 400k into the coffers for a job well done.  Endstate:  'Bitch Slap' was a complete success.  We reset Operation 'Dig Dug' for the end of the month but unusually high casualties forced its cancellation once again.  I swear, the bad guys are getting smarter, one team landed for a recovery op and were immediately cut to pieces by a buzzsaw type ambush.  Thank God for the tank, or we would have lost everyone.  This brings me to an interesting point.  The schmucks seemed to be ignoring the tank and gunning for the troops.  A change in tactics, only time will tell.  They also conducted a terror raid which we saw off with only the loss of a single civilian.  R&D made a breakthrough with a larger troop carrier design.  It costs as much as a base...A BASE!!!  I told the clowns to look at ways to cut corners, I really dont think racing stripes and flames are necessary.  The engineers are complaining of long working hours and screw shortages.  I think they are trying to unionise.  I'll keep my eye on the situation.  The air campaign continued unabated with a new bigger, badder something or other showing up.  We still havent been able to lay our hands on this new class of ship, because they keep ending up in the drink.  To handle these larger craft, we are using swarm tactics by launching craft at intervals so they all end up in the combat space at roughly the same time.  So far, this has been completely successful and we havent lost a single plane.  The end of the month saw a monumental increase in the number of sorties flown by bad guy skiffs.  The last three days saw us down at least 20 craft of the soup bowl and clover designs.  We couldnt fuel the planes fast enough, and the pilots are complaining of headaches.  Too much Red Bull perhaps?  Oh well, we all gotta make sacrifices.  Good news from Central, got a very good for the month and more green.  Looks like we will be expanding our bases by one more.
 
Until the end of the next month.  

[Massattack]

Excellent read!! Keepem coming[:D]

Regards

[MillerTime]

Wonderfully entertaining! Thank you for writing this.
Can't wait for next installment.

[WolfP]

Thanks for the kind words gang.  Between the wife, kids, my job, the house, and my Masters program, its a wonder I have been able to get this far. [;)]

[j campbell]

wolf -excellent.  i love x-com-my all time favorite game.  i don't have this yet-been waiting to pull the trigger -need more time.  WiTP is a great game but a drain when you only have maybe 2hr tops a night to game -have a pbem Here I stand (GMT games) going as well. 

can you give us a rundown on alien species you have encountered?  How large is your base? its equipment and defenses?  8 months and still ticking si quit e the accomplishment as i understand it-economics is tough in this one i hear. 
keep up the good work -i'll be tuning in.
cheers,
john

[WolfP]

The latest news from the front...Month 9. You smell that ladies?..that's the sweet smell of victory. We came, we saw, we kicked the ever livin' crap out of 'em. Let's start from the gitgo...remember that nice new base I was talking about, well, we bought it. Remember the larger ships I was discussing earlier, that annoyingly kept falling into the sea; one had issues with our recent real estate purchase to the tune of 900k and some change. Landed right on top of the new site before the foreman could even break ground with his golden spade. Needless to say, our asses were a bit chapped about this unpleasant turn of events. Figured it would take ten days to fully infest the site, so we sat and waited for a few more of the sick, lame, and lazy to heal up before we pushed. Day before we figured we would lose the site for good, we launched a daylight assault code named: Operation Middle Finger. Apparently the bugs decided to bring boxers to this gun fight. It was an absolute slaughter, with only one casualty...these hallowed halls will not hear the clankity clank of ol' Bessy any longer. Her sole surviving track pad was given a place of honor on the wall of heroes *sniff*. The only bad guys we ran into were the one armed bandits (not the best choice when trying to close with laser armed troopeys down long corridors) and the floating egg plants (dangerous, but dumb as a box of rocks). It was the first opportunity we really had to use the nerve agent in any great amount...it worked really, really well. Heh. Following that, we scooted back to base for a round of high fives, butt slaps (Hey! Don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue), and a few beers. The boys in R&D finally came up with something a little thicker than the paper machete the troops have been wearing up to this point, its called Beehive, Beewing, or Beesomethingorother armor. I really don't know who they have in charge of naming conventions in that crew, but they need to be fired. I've tasked Corporal Punishment to assist in this endeavor. Anyway, the armor supposedly protects better against chem attacks as well as ballistics...supposedly. The 90lb brains also made a medical breakthru and we have a surgery suite. Maybe the docs will quit griping, freely bandying about terms and phrases like "dark ages", "Leeches would be more useful", "doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell", and my personal favorite..."don't worry, he has another just like it on the other side". This just doesn't have the morale building effect you're looking for. Several alien carcasses have been cracked and studied, we have the aformentioned floating egg plant (just kinda hangs out and spits acid), the one armed bandit (has a weak psi attack; deadly at close quarters, tough as nails, but slow as Christmas), the chicken walkers (part bot, part something else, carries guns, and walks like a chicken, thus the obvious) and the snakes (nasty buggers, carry weapons, can take lottsa damage, slither to and fro, give me the heebee geebees) Haven't seen anything else of import up to this point. Brainiacs are telling us we have to quit shooting everything to death and start capturing live specimens. I'm not so sure about this. They smell bad. It can only lead to an increased need for pine scented air fresheners (note additional funding request). Managed to take down one of the larger vessels and it...DIDN'T!..land in the ocean this time. Found lotsa neat stuff inside...sold it all. Bugs seem to be increasing their terror raids on the civilian populace. Had two pop up in as many days, sent the bad guys packing with their prehensil nubs between their legs. Lost maybe a couple of civilians. S'ok, the fools had it coming by walking directly at the bugs. Darwinism is a bitch! Had enough troop strength by the end of the month to mount Operation Dig Dug. This time we ran into chicken walkers and floating egg plants. Formed the guys and gals into sweep and kill teams of 2s. Partitioned the base by long axis. Managed to crush our enemies, saw them driven before us, and heard the lamentations of their women and children (at least that's what I think that high pitched keening was). It was a thing of beauty. Only one casualty was suffered. It was caused by a track star who sprinted through inter-locking fields of fire (we have really got to work on our marksmanship) to arrive at point blank range and blow the bejeezus out of PFC Bag O'Donuts. Instant rag doll. Its okay though, we have a surgery suite now, they can grow his head back. Needless to say, the bug didn't survive the encounter, as he was pierced by multiple las shots from the flank and rear. Noticed something interesting, we have never encountered one species alone. There are always two types together, no more, no less. Anywho...the boys down at central were ecstatic, gave us an excellent as well as a 400k bonus. Its the end of the month and payroll has hit. Looking at buying some more armor, a new tank (I miss Bessy, *sniff*) and maybe one of those new fangled drop ships.

Until next month...

[WolfP]

The latest news from the front...Month 10...Its quiet, almost too quiet. The bugs are up to something, just not sure what yet. The month began with a giant furball over patria with a Clover (+). Initially three sections of a/c were scrambled from surrounding bases for the scrum. When we launched the 4th from Seathopia, it perfomed the most elegant Immelman ever (Richtofen would have been proud) and plowed right into Seathopia's base. Rocket defenses were a disaster as it was raining and we couldnt get the fuzes lit. We launched a counter attack immediately with all available personnel (7). As the troops bounded of the a/c, they split into two groups, one heading East and the other heading West. The East attack was a near cluster as when the door was opened, there were five chicken walkers waiting on the other side, all with big guns, and even bigger grins. The resulting fracas saw a light show that would have done a discotech proud. We lost one troop to multiple hits who collapsed like a house of cards with two others wounded. The badguys didnt fair any better with all five of their being turned into grey smoldering heaps. Once the initial onslaught was complete it was a matter of clean up with no other casualties suffered. This was a sphincter tightening event as there were no reserves and if it hadnt succeded the base would have been lost along with two aircraft and the Eastern flank of the continent left open. So...Hurrah for our side! We suffered two terror raids during the month the first seen off with little to no problem...the second, eh, it could have gone better I suppose. I'll get into that in a moment. The boys at central sent us that box of air freshners, both vanilla and pine. I guess their intent is clear, we gotta catch em instead of fillin em full of holes. Not sure how this is going to go over with the troops, but needs must. In concert with the arrival of the parcel, the good grenade fairy came and paid us a visit leaving lovely new stun grenades under everyones' pillows. We decided that the next time the bugs stuck their antennae into our business, it would be the perfect opportunity to test out the new grenades. Of course, the opportunity came a knockin during the second terror raid. Tally Ho! We got off the plane and chucked one at a chickenwalker hanging out by a light post (we're not sure, and the mission pics are still under review, but we think it was wearing high heels and lipstick in an attempt to lure the unsuspecting into an unfortunate rendevous) and waited...then we waited a little more...and a little more. Finally the thing dropped. We're not clear as to whether it was finally overcome by the gas or sheer boredom. Anyway, it takes a little while for the effects to overcome the little beasties. In the meantime, the rest of the varmints set up a u-shaped ambush, which Helga was unfortunate enough to stumble into...she didnt last long. I cant even say she gave as good as she got, she just fell over in a pile of arms and legs. We finally got around to sweeping and clearing the rest of the area but at the loss of nearly the entire civilian population. At the rate these people reproduce, it will take years to fill the town again. We also took down a landed clover (+) and discovered an alien base in Peloponisia. Planning for Operation Thump has begun in earnest and we should be able to launch it within the next month which will see the last vestiges of permanent occupation by the bugs removed. The surgery unit is working wonders, all non-critical cases are healed the same day and crits are taking about half the time it used to. No more loafing. We're able to field two types of teams now. The newbies fly out to take down smaller craft sites and the vets are held in reserve for larger landings, bases, and terror missions. Ammo production is our current problem. We cant seem to stay on top of the wave with chem grenades and laser ammo. This has resulted in reduced production for other items such as a new tank, armor for the troops, and that very expensive dropship. The braniacs continue to plug away at different projects but no real major break throughs have occurred. I hope with the investment in a new set of digs and toys, the smart kids will stop eating their pencils and begin coming up with something worthwhile. The end of the month arrived with another excellent rating and more cash. Looking to buy another base to seal this continent than we'll start expanding operation overseas. Hopefully, next month will be a little more exciting. Now, the important question, vanilla or pine scent? Hmmmm. Cheers!

[WolfP]

The latest news from the front...Month 11: As we begin the ramp up for new years celebrations, we would like to take this opportunity to solicit "The Management' for some streamers, a couple of noisemakers, a bottle or two of champagne, and a cake...yes, we think a cake would be appropriate. Something three layered, rasberry filling, and chocolate icing. And, we want this stuff to be shipped FREE OF CHARGE!!! for once. Its the least you could do after this month's exploits. Hmmm...where to begin? Oh yes, Operation Thump. A complete success drawn from what was almost a thorough trouncing due to an overly large cranium. Went into the base at Peloponesia with a full team of 8. Forced entry went off without a hitch with two kills right out of the gates. Teams began sweep and kill by twos with zero contact for the first five minutes. Problems began when Binotz entered what looked like a control facility and ran square into three one armed bandits. Out of breath, he dropped to his knee and took aim, when PFC Ditz ran up behind him, pulled the pin on a chem grenade, and hurled it the whole two feet to connect squarely with the back of his head. Subsequently, it rebounded, striking Ditz squarely in the faceplate and exploded on contact wounding him severly and melting Binotz on the spot (we recovered enough genetic material to grow Binotz back in about a month). Between the screams of Binotz's and Ditz's, coupled with the giggling bad guys, the whole damn base was alerted to our presence. The race was on. We shifted forces as quickly as we could, but had to feed them in piecemeal. The bugs managed to mass 3 OABs and 7 CWs with a mix of light and heavy weapons for a creepy, crawly, shambling wave. A retrograde was ordered to a more defensible area with troops in the rear tossing gas grenades to the front of those withdrawing through strong points to reset the lines further back. Eventually the alien counter-attack was broken, but at the expenditure of nearly all our grenades, most of the laser ammo, 4 troops combat ineffective (requiring extensive surgery and recovery), and three wounded requiring multi-day treatments in the rear. Because of the abnormally large expenditure of munitions, and the fact most of my Bees Knees wearing troopeys were shot to pieces, smaller ops had to be put on hold while we rebuilt our ammo cache and end strength. The extra 400k helped enormously to offset the fact we couldn't begin scavenging until about the 10th. In the meantime, the airdales kept the skies clear of bogeys doing their level best to make sure any UFOs brought down needed masks, fins, and snorkels for survival. Around the 10th is when we finally heard the pitter patter of tiny tank pads about the place once again. She's bigger...She's badder...She's Bessy II, complete with rocket launcher. Bessy made her impact felt as we started running short on funding around the 15th. She escorted a group of Newbs on a recovery and ran amock. She didnt hit anything, but managed to keep the bugs busy while the FNGs shot and missed repeatedly. Eventually the law of averages gave us a break, and the last alien was put down. Bessy II trundled back to base a little worse for the wear, but still operational. As our troop strength continued to rebuild, we saw an increase in sorties flown by Clover (+) ships. After the loss of three interceptors in 5 days, the fleet was grounded for re-training and re-equipping. During that time they brought down 7 cruiser sized vessels, 3 of which were recovered along with the king daddy rabbit of captures...a commander. The eggheads were salivating when we brought the big green snake back. Two terror raids were seen off with little loss of life, civilian or military. The base in Seathopia was invaded by the bugs once again. We took it back the same day with no losses. I think we need to move it elsewhere. By the end of the month, we had recovered 5 Clover (+), dropped a further 4 into the drink, beat back 3 Terror Raids, recaptured a base, and booted the bad guys off our lovely planet. Waiting for the other shoe to drop now. It seems like the snakes have been present in greater numbers as of late. The scientists are collating the data to confirm whether this is the case or not. End of month report came in with an excellent rating and more cash. Now, cake please. Until the end of next month.

[MillerTime]

Another fun read! One nit-picky suggestion:

Can you split your AAR's into shorter lines;
I have hard time reading all the way across and back
to next line.

I'm just starting month 10, on easy.
Haven't seen any alien commanders yet.
Is the snake commander only one you've seen?

[WolfP]

In answer to your first question, yeah...I'll figure out a way to make it more legible. [;)]  To the second, again yes.  As I was reading through others' posts, I began to wonder what would trip the arrival of a CO type unit.  Now, I cant throw a grenade without it bouncing off the tail of one of these nastys, and I'm not really sure what I did to gain all this recent attention.  [:'(]  I have also yet to run into one that hasnt been carrying a heavy weapon or not capable of moving then firing two to three times.  They are a pain and require alot of dancing about on the flanks to maintain distance and overwhelm with numbers.  Advanced med kits have helped immensely when taking one of these clowns down.

[WolfP]

Oh...and the reason it took so long to get through this month...two internal crash to desktop errors.  What a pain especially when you are 2/3rds of the way through the month and you havent saved since the first day.  Lesson learned...save early, save often.

[MillerTime]

ORIGINAL: WolfP

In answer to your first question, yeah...I'll figure out a way to make it more legible. [;)]

Just hit enter every 10 or 12 words
to create shorter lines like this.

And a double "enter" every so often
to create "paragraphs" sort of..

Thanks from a very entertained reader!

[WolfP]

Ok gang...as a special treat, I have a quarters worth of reports for your perusal.

Month 12...Very bland month. It allowed us to finish alot of the minor projects sitting in the lab. We finally managed to crack plasma technology, and when I say crack, I mean everything from pistols to the plasma cannon for a/c, so we are spitting green goo as fast as our stubby little digits can pull the triggers. We've also created laser shields for the a/c as well. Policy decision has been made to not upgrade the fleet as its too expensive. Only newly purchased winged things will receive the upgrades. We are holding up well enough without for the moment. All the troopeys are outfitted with new armor and healed. Only tussles worth noting are Seathopia, which was once again taken over by monsters. We kicked them to the curb the same day, but its irritating losing the defenses each time. We need a shield for the bases, hell, a bunch of garbage can lids hot glued together would give us more protection than what we have now. Oh...Merry Christmas!

Month 13...Happy New Year!!! Well, maybe not so happy. The bugs showed up with something bigger and badder to clear the skies. We are averaging roughly a lost a/c for every downed bug battlecruiser. I guess the fleet will be upgraded faster than originally projected. We have also found a few new toys for the smart kids to tinker with. There is a weapon that we've taken to calling 'The Whistler'. Makes a neato sound. Hurts like hell when it hits. Cuts through armor like a hot knife through butter. Makes big holes in people. At least it cauterizes the wounds when it passes through.

Ran into some new friends as well. One, the Walking Timex (dubbed so by the troops, because it takes a lickin' and keeps on ticking), is a mechanical bipedal monstrosity that carries a largish cannon over the right shoulder and takes a pounding that Randall 'Tex' Cobb would be hard pressed to stand through. We have chucked every grenade and used every shooty weapon we have available to bring these big fellahs down. Bottom line, all lasers are useless except the heavy laser, frag grenades, you might as well be throwing eggs or very big rocks, and plasma fire needs to be concentrated from two or more shooters. SOP now is when one shows up, everybody rushes to the scene with barrels glowing white. The other is a bigger, badder version of the egg plant. It takes two frag grenades to kill rather than one. Not much excitment there.

We did have a few tussles with the newer bad guys. One involved a terror raid. As soon as the ramp dropped on the assault craft, there were no less than 4 WTs standing outside shuddering in mechanical expectation. By the end of the firefight, 50% of the team was down. We completed the mission, with only one troop able to walk back to the a/c under his own power. The rest...on gurnies in various states of dismemberment.

Month 14...Well, we continue to suffer substantial losses, but we are patching em up and sending em out as quick as we can. We lost Peloponisia again. The base has already been located by the airdales and tentively scheduled for destruction at the end of the month. We cracked ion technology, so now we are fielding weapons just as powerful as the WTs. Too bad they dont seem to do any more damage than the rest of the crap we are lugging around. We have however modified our approach to taking the big mechs down, as soon as one is spotted, we pin him with a single shooter and everyone else grabs a flank. The armor doesnt seem as thick from the sides and rear. This works great in open country, but close quarter battles aboard ships are still bloody affairs. The other issue is the WTs dont drop ammo, so stocks are starting to fall as more of these show up on the battlefield and less 'killables' arrive in zone. We have also figured out how more of the alien tech works aboard their ships, so more money for the coffers. We have had three or for newbies show up. They're all in the hospital now for a very long, long time.

Month 15...Another country lost to the alien menace, so now we have two pest control projects to contend with. A/C losses have rapidly fallen off as improved equipment continues to be fielded to the fleet. We are waaaayyyyy short of manpower. We cant keep them out of the infirmary due to the abundance of WTs and their unerring ability to shoot down a back azimuth from incoming fire. Its irritating. Another new something or other showed itself, named shuriken by the troops. Its mechanical, has three legs, floats on the air, and has a bigger gun, but its also about as survivable as the egg plants. Chuck a plasma grenade under it and they die easy. So, we have two operations set for the beginning of next month to clear alien bases. We would launch them this month but the single healthy guy we have active balked. No use trying to talk to a nervous troop with an ion rifle. Until the end of next month.

[GalacticOrigins]

WOW, What a WAR !
 
Keep up the good hunting!
 
btw, has anyone noticed that
a) with many interceptors a HORDE of alien craft show up to contest the airwaves
b) with few interceptors only a few alien craft show up
 
???
 
Well, I use 3 advanced INT and 3 standard Raptor in current game. In old game I had like 20 intcereptor, and the current game has a lot less air traffic over Ilyria! But it is still enough to give me missions ... [:)]

[WolfP]

Well...I still havent built any of the new interceptors, the old ones seem to hold their own.  I can currently surge a fleet of 10 if necessary with various tech attached.  Its a hodge podge, we look like the Clampetts on their way to Beverly, but it works.  I havent really noticed an increase in the amount of alien a/c that show up, and they generally surge a/c at the end of the month.  Typically it will be 1 to 2 scouts, 3 to 5 fighters, and maybe a cruiser or battlecruiser.  This will occur over a 3 to 5 day period after the 20th, then it slows down for a while.  What's a challenge is when you have several sorties chasing down smaller targets, then a BC shows up in the middle of our alien exclusion zone.  Everyone has to be re-vectored to address the threat, so they are chasing the BC, and anyone the fighters havent downed, are chasing them as they roll in hot on the big fellah.  Its made for some interesting dog fights and resulted in a couple of losses.  Just a general note, the bug a/c focus on one craft, so watch the health closely.  At about 50% is generally when they are given the order to drop to the hard deck on full burn and RTB.  Most of the time they make it...Most of the time.  [:D]