Let's play X-Com: Apocalypse Real-Time! (part 3)

[teammick]

your units are better at hitting the target when they only have 1 weapon at a time

[MetalCanyon]

@teammick They are, but in real time I prefer firepower over sheer accuracy. :)

[Pastshelfdate]

Remember, daily hires & weekly purchases change after midnight. 6;01 Also good to set agents to kneel at end of each run, so they shoot better, are harder to hit. 16:57 Makes more sense to give agents with weak aim the sniper rifles, to assist them. Other weapons need better aim to be useful. 27:08 Game only reloads weapons; that agent used all extra ammo carried on last mission. 32:32 Fewer points for captured gear; explosive ammo cost you.

[Metalkings1]

Keep it up mate

[MetalCanyon]

@Metalkings1 Thanks! Glad you're enjoying the videos. :)

[animereviewdude]

cmon dude when am i gonna be recruited 

[MetalCanyon]

@animereviewdude When it's your turn. :p There are 3 more people in front of you in the next part.

[defosh369]

Hey MetalCanyon!, I must ask you someting, how did you make your game run so fast and smooth while fighting real-time?, seriously, my XCOM: Apocalypse was jaggy and slow compared to yours (I think you can refer to fight at ending of your first video). I was using freeware version of the game (sadly, without soundtrack, install and play, available on numerus Polish websites), without any advanced render settings that DOSbox provides. Also, you light a nice fire in the apartments :D.

[defosh369]

@defosh369 Oh sorry, it was a temple of sirus building actually. Damn.

[MetalCanyon]

@defosh369 Uh, there is no freeware version available. What you've downloaded was a pirated copy. Buy it - it's worth it. :)

And to get it running smoothly, you'll need to run it through DOSbox (not sure how you didn't in the first place) and tweak the settings. You can check out my "X-Com: Apocalypse on Windows 7" video to see what you need to do. :)

[defosh369]

@MetalCanyon Thanks for the response with info, I am using 7 myself for about two months now, didn't tried to run XCOM: Apocalypse on this system yet, so this video will be very helpful and damn, it was actually saying on the website that's legal and freeware. It was launching through different .exe to run without DOSbox (site contains numerous old games and mmo games with freeware programs), well shit, you may never know... I think it's time to pay a visit to Steam and get a proper version...

[Pastshelfdate]

@defosh369 I have to get a new desktop, and get Steam reinstalled on it. After that, I'll buy you a Steam copy of X-Com: Apocalypse, if you can use Steam. If you can't use Steam, I'll look into a disk copy on eBay. I'm only working part-time, but my expenses are low, and I know what it's like to not have access to my favorite game. My email is pastshelfdate (at) i-c (dot) net.

[MetalCanyon]

@Pastshelfdate Yes, you can buy it off Steam and it comes with dosbox to run it. It's also quite cheap. :)

[defosh369]

@Pastshelfdate Heh, thanks a lot for that, but there's really no need to buy me a copy of this game :D, I will order myself a original CD version of this game off very popular in Poland, e-bay style site, named Allegro, that I have an account on. I'ts a bit more expensive (about 16 USD) than Steam version (about 7 USD?), but it comes with original packaging and 2 CD's. As MetalCanyon said, it's worth it :D.

[Pastshelfdate]

@defosh369 You will love having the original packaging and disk. The art is nice. Even the disk is printed with a gorgeous scene, something like the splash screen when returning from a mission, or is it reloading the game? Anyway, I think you're making a good decision, and I'm glad you can afford it. I hope you have no trouble getting DOS Box to run the disk for you.

[KorneelDewulf]

MC, actually, i signed up to be a PSI-trooper, you might have missed me as you said no one wanted to be one ;)

[MetalCanyon]

@KorneelDewulf Oh, damn. You're right, mate. Sorry about that, wasn't intentional! I've written it down now. :)

[Pastshelfdate]

@KorneelDewulf I also asked to be a hybrid, only MC may put me at the back of that line because I've also asked to be assigned to combat training, first. I want my strength and health stats (among others) up to effective levels before I start psi training. There's not as much use for psi attack and defense in the early game, anyway.

[MetalCanyon]

@Pastshelfdate Oh, damn. I must've missed you applying... I've written you down now and will get you the next hybrid available!

[Amainville93]

Just watching this was great, because of how fast paced it was. If the new X-COM game is more or less like this (real-time being fast-paced, and you doing commanding, not shooting), it should be rather entertaining.

[MetalCanyon]

@Amainville93 I don't think the new XCOM will be like that. It'll be a first person shooter although it, apparently, will feature some kind of research and strategy. We'll see. I'm not holding my breath.

[Pronewbi3]

Hah. thanks for recruiting me=D I'd say we pretty much leveled sirius on that second go. I get the feeling covert ops will NOT be our strong point in this LP =p

[Amainville93]

@Pronewbi3 Covert ops for X-COM is managing to not blow up a building in the city by accident. Ever seen a highway get completely leveled in a single shot? That may happen a lot in this LP. :P

[MetalCanyon]

@Amainville93 Amainville93 is entirely correct here.

[MetalCanyon]

@Pronewbi3 Covert ops? COVERT? That word does not exist in X-Com dictionary. the word that replaces it is CARNAGE.

[Pastshelfdate]

@MetalCanyon One of now over 1,500 things Mr. Glen Welch is no longer allowed to do in a role-playing game is lie down after a battle and make carnage angels (instead of snow angels in snow) in the blood. Ew. Lulz.

[Hawkster52]

Don't you feel the least bit guilty for what you did to Sirius? You raided them twice in one episode. They're all dead. :(

[MetalCanyon]

@Hawkster52 Do I feel guilty for it? Well... Now that you put it like that.... Errr.... Hmmm..... No. :p

[xylthixlm]

@Amainvill93 Dual-wielding toxiguns is AWESOME, but it chews through ammo unbelievably fast.

[MetalCanyon]

@xylthixlm Yeah, but we'll also produce toxigun ammo unbelievably fast! :D

[BattleBunny1979]

If you dont get all ufo's you will be unable to research beyond a certain point. Not picking up those ufo's might come back to bite you in the butt, since later on they will never send the small ones anymore, and you will be effectively stuck,,,

Just a friendly warning dude.

[xylthixlm]

@BattleBunny1979 The first two UFO types aren't needed for research. The one that's really important but possible to miss is Type 3 (aka Alien Transport).

[MetalCanyon]

@BattleBunny1979 Don't worry. Even at end game, they sometimes still send probes and scouts. :p

[xylthixlm]

Did you miss my agent request? Hybrid, double lawpistols.

[MetalCanyon]

@xylthixlm I didn't miss it, mate. You're on the list but there's still a few people in line before you. Don't worry, you'll get your spot. :)

[xylthixlm]

@MetalCanyon I was wondering because you said no one was waiting for a mutant.

[MetalCanyon]

@xylthixlm Argh, I've missed your 'hybrid' part! Sorry! I'm wondering, though. Seeing how many applications there are, why do you wish to be a mutant? They're not perfect for combat roles. I think having a mind bender in one hand would work better, no? :)

[xylthixlm]

@MetalCanyon I want to get ungodly high accuracy first, THEN switch to mind bender. :)

[xylthixlm]

@MetalCanyon I want to get ungodly high accuracy first, THEN switch to mind bender. :)

[MetalCanyon]

@xylthixlm Okay. I've recruited a hybrid in the next part but not in your name, just so you know. Now that I have your reasons, I'll get you one. There's only one person in front of you who wants a psi trooper, anyway, so it might be quick. :)

[Pastshelfdate]

@MetalCanyon Hybrids start out fragile and slow, but given combat training, I've found they become my best agents of all. Their psi can resist mind control well enough, and unlike androids, their stats go up. I have always loved how the two despised groups, pushed into ghettos, are the ones that do the most to save Mega Primus from the alien threat.

[Pastshelfdate]

@xylthixlm And I strongly recommend you ask MC to put you in combat training, in the early game, so your strength and health stats go up to safe, effective levels, before you start psi training.

[xylthixlm]

When I play real-time, I treat it more like turn-based except that I control how long the turns are: Pause, give every unit orders individually, run at half speed for a few seconds, pause again, repeat.

Then again, just letting your agents turn everything into a sea of fire is amusing for a battle or two.

[MetalCanyon]

@xylthixlm I might do that when playing alone but for an LP that would just take too much time. So there's some risk involved. :p

[11moogle]

Okay thank you very much for recruiting me but I do have a few complaints for my supreme commander (that is to say YOU MetalCanyon). 1.Seriously? You didn't give me armor? 2. I am a veteran from the last alien incursion and wish to be recognized as such. 3. may I please have a machine gun instead of a laser sniper rifle.

Still having fun watching you play though so keep up the good times :)

[MetalCanyon]

@11moogle You're getting armour in the next part (I think) :p

And yes, you're a veteran from the previous war, no doubt about that!

And yes, you'll get a machine gun. If I don't forget it...

[11moogle]

@MetalCanyon Thank you very much.

[Pastshelfdate]

@11moogle Hey, Moogle! Glad MC noticed you didn't have armor. By the way, especially because your starting psi stats are high enough to stun and panic enemies, I strongly suggest you ask - even beg - MC to switch you over to combat training, until your other stats are up even with the humans.  Otherwise, your strength will be too low for you to run with the pack, and your health will be too fragile, even in armor. And you won't be able to hit anything.

[marcelobk1000]

well the first alien technoly upgrade is the best one,because it is a bless.They exchange some brainsucker launchers for disruptor guns,with is a lot easier to deal with.No more that much aliens falling 8 stories on our heads!

[MetalCanyon]

@marcelobk1000 I can't wait for that, although I'm worried they might hurt my agents too much. Thankfully, disruptor guns aren't very accurate, if I remember correctly.

[marcelobk1000]

@MetalCanyon if i remind well,they have accuracy of 40,a bit more than a M4000.Kinda innacurate.But the devastator,as the second more accurate,non-homing weapon,is a thing you must fear in real time.

[MetalCanyon]

@marcelobk1000 Yeah, we'll see about devastators. They'll be a real problem, one that I hope to solve with lots of hiding and lobbing loads of stun grenades.

[marcelobk1000]

@MetalCanyon the thing i liked most of real-time is the need to be tactical.If you dont seek cover,shot when is possible,you get a lot of injuries and casualties.But the brainsucker rain that can happen is a bit scary though.

[Pastshelfdate]

@marcelobk1000 Brainsuckers are a lot easier to handle in real time, if we don't mind a lot of pausing. MC can select individual agents and then right-click on brainsuckers. He can even right-click on brainsuckers that are already attacking agents, so long as he doesn't use ACs or Devastators. I've always been able to bring enough fire to bear on the suckers to kill them before they take anyone over. It's still exciting.

[marcelobk1000]

@Pastshelfdate yes,brainsuckers are not deadly like in turn-based,but the rain that hapened in the first mission was a little overwhelming for a first mission.We lost Zero to it.Now that MC is getting the hang of real-time,brainsuckers are not standing a chance.But the poopers are annihilating the agents now

[MetalCanyon]

@marcelobk1000 The poopers shall soon have their last explosive diarrhoea!

[marcelobk1000]

@MetalCanyon well,since they can only have one,and in your agents,it is always the last one...for both sides...the pooper and the agent (PacifistoOoOo anyone?)XD

[Pastshelfdate]

@marcelobk1000 Yes, disruptor pistols = fewer brain suckers. And the second best thing about disruptor guns is that only your agents are any good with them, because only your agents' stats have been going up. Sell as many of those as you can; your human enemies will buy them and you'll face fewer weapons with which they can hit you.

[MetalCanyon]

@Pastshelfdate Yeah, disruptors are great all around! They're also lovely to manufacture and sell. :D

[Mefatu78]

these videos are real thrill mate, 30 minutes not enough. :) 1:38 very good idea. you can hardly get a few disruptor cannons or guns unless you dont use HE auto cannons. 13:03 I prefer plasma pistols to law pistols. it is better in every catagory especially ammo capacity. lawpistols leave you alone in the half of a real-time battle if you dont stack lots of magazines.

[MetalCanyon]

@Mefatu78 1:38 I know. Using incendiary can work in turn-based since it burns so slowly, but explosive shots are a death sentence to equipment.

13:03 There's still not enough ammunition for plasma pistols here and I'll probably give some agents two of them.

[MHloppy96]

10:50 lol :P

I'm enjoying it so far but I've still gotta catch up on the end of the turn based play through, I might have to watch both at once ;)

[MetalCanyon]

@MHloppy96 10:50 Damn it, I thought I've taken that out... Grr.

And sure, go on and catch up. :)

[ghostdog688]

Can I join whenever? lookin' to pull sniper duty

'SHIFT, please!!!'

[MetalCanyon]

@ghostdog688 Hahah, shift, indeed. :p Written you down!

[sargesss]

you can see the game was make for real time :P

[ytiralc]

Great speed on McBones, but the rest of his stats, ouch ;)

[Amainville93]

@ytiralc Personally, I think this batch of recruits has the best names. McBones? FunkiMonkey? Absolutely great.

[MetalCanyon]

@Amainville93 I know, right? :D

[MetalCanyon]

@ytiralc Don't worry about it! You'll improve! :p

[MetalCanyon]

@ytiralc Yeah, they would probably be best because they don't explode.. But we do have machine guns and AP autocannons. Plus, it's fun to make them explode. :p

[Pastshelfdate]

@MetalCanyon Yes, it's fun to make things explode. Did you notice you scored lower for captured gear after your second Cult raid? I saw a lot of explosions next to fallen Cult guards. Early in the game, you need the money and gear more than you need entertaining explosions.

If you don't mind extra pauses, you can start out shooting explosive ammo to soften up the enemy, and just switch immediately to AP ammo, as soon as the first kill. Only dropped gear is destroyed by explosions.

[MetalCanyon]

@Pastshelfdate Yeah, I've later switched to mostly armour piercing to avoid destroying gear. Need... money!

[OrangeBulldog29]

Just so you know. I don`t really care what species, what weapons or armor ( As long as i in the end get my orange bulldog head....If i live that long......) It would have been cool to have a LawPistol...Just for a change....But i dont want it forever.....Ahhh...I don`t know...You decide....when/if i get recruited.

[MetalCanyon]

@OrangeBulldog29 Got it. And you will probably be recruited soon... :p

[SakaronHisou]

Thanks for adding me to the list metal canyon, I had been watching as to your previous vid and catching up while waiting for the next video.

[MetalCanyon]

@SakaronHisou Very welcome, mate! Hope you'll enjoy the rest of the videos as well. :)

[Amainville93]

Still no androids? Ah well, there's always the next in-game week.

[MetalCanyon]

@Amainville93 Don't worry, you'll get your android!

[Amainville93]

@MetalCanyon I'm not worried. The way this is going, you'll need all the agents you can get, so we're bound to have HK-47 eventually. :)

[Pastshelfdate]

@Amainville93 Every midnight is when the available hires change, so MC, please check every midnight. It's equipment and supplies that become available weekly.

[MetalCanyon]

@Pastshelfdate We have to keep our eye out on the money as well. And those new recruits won't go anywhere if I don't check them every day. :p

[Amainville93]

@Pastshelfdate Yeah, I realized that in the next 2 videos.

[werleniaz]

Another brilliant let's play! :)

[MetalCanyon]

@werleniaz Thank you very much! :D

[KethamBodds]

Oh I do love watching these LPs :D I'm a bit sad when it's over, but it's only to be continued. Make more, please !!

[MetalCanyon]

@KethamBodds Thanks! Glad you're enjoying them! :D And more are to come, don't worry - we have a war to win!

[mouserman89]

can i be changed to a hybrid?

[MetalCanyon]

@mouserman89 Hm, okay. I'll try to get you one.

[Amainville93]

Hmm, considering how dual-wielding works, I wonder if dual-wielding toxiguns would be viable.

[MetalCanyon]

@Amainville93 When toxiguns are available, we're certainly going to dual-wield them. :D Of course, a stungrapple here and there won't hurt.

[Pastshelfdate]

@Amainville93 Yes, once I have enough for all agents to use one with another pistol weapon (generally plasma pistol, with ammo taken from the Cult), I double up on toxiguns. They are devastating to aliens and humans, dual wielded. It really burns through the ammo, though, so I have at least 5 engineers making nothing but toxin.

[MetalCanyon]

@Pastshelfdate I can't wait to give my agents two toxiguns! Hehe

[kubamakar22]

yay i got promoted :)

[MetalCanyon]

@kubamakar22 Deserved! :D

[kubamakar22]

@MetalCanyon Sir YES Sir !!! :)

[birgoth86]

U can try to block exits from map. It prevents them from escaping (At least i belive it does).

Also, don't forget to refit 11Moogle...

[MetalCanyon]

@birgoth86 Seeing how there are exits all over the edges of the map, I don't think that's completely viable. Especially if I want to hide like a coward! :D

[huntercd]

another enjoyable lets play :D

[MetalCanyon]

@huntercd Thank you very much, mate! Glad you've enjoyed it! :)

[yamig18]

alien can escape, look at 2:31, it says that they fled the combat zone

[MetalCanyon]

@yamig18 Wow, you're right. I didn't even read that. Hmm, never had that happen before. Does that mean they'll spread to other buildings? If so, not nice! My stay and ambush in one spot tactic won't work then...

[kubamakar22]

@MetalCanyon i think on Superhuman you have to attack because if they panic there's a chance they're gonna try to escape.

[kubamakar22]

@kubamakar22 but i'am not sure so don't spam me that i'am wrong pls ?

[Pastshelfdate]

@kubamakar22 I've seen enemies escape at lower difficulty levels, too, so I think it's more a function of how much time passes. Good thought, though. It's certainly happening in this game.

[MetalCanyon]

@Pastshelfdate Yeah, I've never experienced it in turn-based because, by the time the aliens were panicking, I had probably killed almost all of them already and could end the battle on the next turn.

[yamig18]

@MetalCanyon sometimes they move to building next to the one they escaped from, you can try to save and investigate them if that happens to you, but situation when they run away is rare at least for me (and i used similiar tactic) so i wouldnt bother so much about it. And go for distruptor gun as fast as you can, dual wielded is really great in realtime , till they start to use shields

[MetalCanyon]

@yamig18 Yeah, as you can see I've fast-forwarded the time and checked the graphs. No apparent infiltrations... So yay! :D I can't wait for disruptor guns!

[Pastshelfdate]

@MetalCanyon Actually, I've found the ambush a good way to start, dealing with the most aggressive enemies, whittling down their numbers.  After their first rush, it's good to start searching. Sending agents alone into small rooms is okay, so long as there's another agent nearby, for backup.

[Onemanshov]

i want to be a soldier MetalCanyon! PLS!!!!

[MetalCanyon]

@Onemanshov Written you down, mate. :)

[TCDooM]

can you fix my name, TCDooM :) cool man.

[MetalCanyon]

@TCDooM Sure thing. :p

[MetalCanyon]

@TCDooM Got it! Sorry, wanted to print out all the names so I could catch such details but had some problems with the connection, so I've had to write everything down...