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Given that it took two days to finish the mission, it's a good thing that that was still less than 30 minutes.
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Oct 2, 2021 05:11
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Important Note: SMaster777 just thankfully informed me that the next mission includes a choice of COs, which I was not aware of. So! Jake, Rachel, or Max? Place your votes!FoolyCharged posted:Are you implying that statement could be calamitous? Oh god am I going to regret everything Staltran posted:Given that they redirect it into the ocean, apparently it was controlled remotely. Towards an immobile target. For some reason. To say he's implied to be a literal (or at least partly a) computer, Jugger is... not making the most sensible decisions. Rosalie_A posted:They even call it a ballistic missile but somehow it can be redirected!? as much as I don't want to admit it, you might be on to something here
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Oct 2, 2021 08:25
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Rachel for some more everything with my dude and the next CO
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Oct 2, 2021 09:25
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Definitely Rachel for the dynamic with her and my dude.
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Oct 2, 2021 09:52
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SoundwaveAU posted:Definitely Rachel for the dynamic with her and my dude. They're the dynamic dude-o.
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Oct 2, 2021 09:57
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Rachel
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Oct 2, 2021 11:58
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This was not mentioned, but since you encountered Lash (briefly though it was) you should note that she was rebalanced! And by rebalanced, I mean nerfed. Rather than gaining +10% offense per terrain star, she now gains +5%. That's it. She is otherwise the same as in AW2.
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Oct 2, 2021 14:58
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I’ll vote Rachel here.
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Oct 2, 2021 15:01
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Well, Team In Laws is winning.... but I'm gonna vote Jake so we can see more bad victory screens and my dude's reaction to those.
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Oct 2, 2021 15:46
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Rorac posted:This was not mentioned, but since you encountered Lash (briefly though it was) you should note that she was rebalanced! And by rebalanced, I mean nerfed. Rather than gaining +10% offense per terrain star, she now gains +5%. That's it. She is otherwise the same as in AW2. Oh, I see. Noted! Guess that makes her a bit less threatening, but was she that strong anyway? I don't remember her being completely busted day-to-day, though that's probably just the AI not utilising her strengths very well.
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Oct 2, 2021 16:08
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cosmicPostman posted:Oh, I see. Noted! Guess that makes her a bit less threatening, but was she that strong anyway? I don't remember her being completely busted day-to-day, though that's probably just the AI not utilising her strengths very well.
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Oct 2, 2021 16:18
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Rachel
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Oct 3, 2021 03:10
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cosmicPostman posted:Oh, I see. Noted! Guess that makes her a bit less threatening, but was she that strong anyway? I don't remember her being completely busted day-to-day, though that's probably just the AI not utilising her strengths very well. Eeepies posted:If you consider her a baseline +10% to attack (plains), which further increases in forest, cities, and mountains, she's already above average compared to half of the other COs out there. Her SCOP basically gives her a free turn which makes her definitely on the upper tier of COs, playable with good niches but not as good as the staples or the busted. Yeah, in AW2 Lash was pretty strong; her day to day effect basically benefits you doing what you already want to do, and having no weaknesses whatsoever, Lash was at an intersection of "pretty strong" and "really easy to play well", the AI doesn't use her terribly well but Lash is a solid CO when in the hands of a player; the other thing is that her SCOP is bascially an offense, defense, AND movement power all in one, what with doubling of terrain stars and having perfect movement for a turn; as long as there's rough terrain her units get to dash forward faster than normal. In the hands of a good player Lash is an absolute pain to deal with. Consider: Everybody's talked about how in AWDS all the CO's are kinda broken. Despite that Lash got nerfed. That's how good she is.
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Oct 3, 2021 13:33
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Part 5 (Battle) - And Here’s Why My Dude Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Call Airstrikes Welcome back, folks. Moving on to a new map, with a new enemy CO. Looks like Black Hole's really branching out this time.   WHAT!? Who do you think you are, waltzing in and giving ME orders, muscle head? Simmer down! Man, you're just like your sister, you little hothead!Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I've never seen Nell as a particularly hotheaded person. She's usually calm and controlled, so I don't know what the hell Max is talking about here.  'Sup! What's going on? I heard yelling. Are you two playing nice? Hey, Jake, my dude! Gimme a hand with Rachel, will you? Black Hole forces have been spotted moving into the Tahira Range and... And Max wants to march right out and open fire! Whose command is this? MINE! I decide who takes the field! ME! Now back off! Hey, you two! Do you wanna calm it down a bit? Oh, don't get me started on YOU! Whoa, whoa... Chill! First, we've got to do some recon, then we'll talk. You know tempers are running high when loving "phat beat" McGee over here is the voice of reason. They haven't started anything yet, right? You're right. Max was being so gung ho and headstrong that I blew my top. And what's wrong with being gung ho? Take it easy, Max. C'mon, let's roll! I can't BELIEVE I'm surrounded by so many people who irritate me. Hey, I've not done anything to annoy you. Well, OK, I've not done anything to annoy you TODAY... So yeah, we just get thrown into this map. We'll do deployments in a moment - this is a new thing the game's introducing.  Didn't there used to be more trees and stuff? Omega Land is rapidly deteriorating into desert, and it's a serious problem. We don't know what's causing it, but my guess is Black Hole is behind it.Well, the game is called Advance Wars: it's usually Black Hole's fault. For the time being, let's focus on crushing these goons in front of us! There's a factory by the HQ, isn't there? This must be a deployment map.The characters referring to the levels as "maps" is throwing me off a little. It feels very fourth-wall-leaning. So we can deploy any units we want, right? Gasp! Selena? Finally?! Yep. And that, of course, means you need funds to produce units. I doubt you've given much thought to money up to this point, am I right? I have no idea what you're talking about. That coffee you're drinking cost you like ten dollars. ...Is that expensive? Oh boy. Well, on a map like this, funds are a part of strategy you can't ignore. First off, you receive funds at the beginning of each day. Now, the more bases you have, the more cash you earn.This is all the usual stuff we already know. Still, it's nice to have a deployment map - I do prefer them to predeployed maps, unless we're talking Kanbei predeployed maps. Remember, bases provide you with terrain bonuses, supplies, and funds. You'll want to capture as many as you can, no matter where they are. To deploy a unit, tap a factory and choose a unit from the unit list. Word. I'll give it a shot.Bold of you to assume we're using you, Jake. The enemy ain't far away, and their numbers are pretty small. With all this flat land, I'd say Jake is better off taking this one on his own. I get your point, but let's discuss it a bit before we come to a decision. Yeah, let the tacticians make the calls, Max. What tacticians? I don't see any. Oh, that's low. You know you can scout the map before taking the field, right? All you do is move the cursor around to check out the terrain and enemy units.God, what a loving lifesaver of a feature. ...Well, generally, anyway. My readers vote on multiple-CO maps so I don't get much choice anyway, but getting to see the map before choosing a CO is an excellent quality-of-life upgrade. When you're ready to start fighting, tap the menu button and choose Deploy.Well, may as well check out the new enemy CO.  Koal, huh? And a... road master. Sure, why not. He doesn't look too threatening, though.  Oh boy! A movement-increasing CO Power, can you loving believe it? I sure can't. This is so out of character for Intelligent Systems. OK, but seriously, are they kidding? Give me something more interesting. A SCOP that allows units to restore HP from roads as if they were bases for a turn or two, or lets you go through enemy units if they're on roads. loving anything that isn't goddamn Mov +1 and Mov +2 for your CO Power and Super CO Power respectively.  The small window on top shows the current CO. To use someone else, touch the current CO's name, then touch the CO that you want to use. See? It's that simple! Now, get out there and win!No, it's fine, whatever. Let's just pick a CO and get on with it.  We're selecting Rachel for this map, as voted by you guys. She should be a decent enough choice, so that's fine by me.  We're ready to roll. Let's see how this new CO utilises his road-based prowess.  Ah, yes, and the deployments for today: Today’s Deployments Carter, Mech Dave, Mech Von Panzer, Tank Ingo, Tank Julian, Tank Rin, Tank Lucy, Artillery Lucy Ophelia Maxwell Age: 18 Personality: Everybody’s favourite bomber pilot. Proficiencies: Bomber, Fighter, Artillery, [unknown]  CO Powers are special abilities that give commanders an advantage in battles. Yeah, usually for Black Hole, because I never take enough damage to get my CO Powers off. What's your CO Power? Convincing everybody except me that you're some brilliant auteur genius? Better than yours, which is just "hur dur I want to be like my big sis". Say that again and I won't let you call any airstrikes. Wait, no! I want airstrikes! Come back! Anyway, as I was saying, Jake... Check your CO profiles on the map window to learn more about individual CO Powers. The top screen shows a CO portrait, current funding, and the power meter. You can use a standard CO Power when the small stars on the meter fill up. Man, my dude. You two really aren't getting on, huh? Look, I'm trying my best. Nell made me promise to play nice... doesn't seem like she told Rachel to do the same. Rachel's well-meaning, though. 'Course she's worried about the pedigree of whichever man's lucky enough to land her sister. You gotta prove you're more than Nell's match! I loving beat Sturm! Twice! What more does she want? Maybe she just wants to see you in action for herself. If you don't use it, the large stars will fill and you can use a Super CO Power. Super CO Powers are many times stronger than normal powers and can change the tide of a battle in an instant. Ugh, don't I know it. Sidewinder, Black Storm, Meteor Strike, mother loving Lightning Strike... The type of power you use depends on the power itself and the battle conditions. When the power meter is full, choose Power from the map window and give it a try! Enough lecturing! Why don't you guys decide how you're going to fight this out. Wait, I've got an idea! Hey, Rachel, my dude's the ACO, officially. He should get to choose which CO is a best fit for this map, right? I, uh, right. That sounds reasonable. Fine. Who's going with you, my dude? Probably Ja-- My dude thinks that you should go with him! Wait, what are you--this is your plan?! Yeah! Now you can show her what you can do! What? Oh, god drat it, Max. Sure thing, Rachel, you'd be good for this map. Want to help me crush them? Fine, but you're going to have to EARN your airstrikes. Bet you I can beat the map without them. So, well, let's get on with it. We've only got Carter and Dave deployed right now, but they'll be a good start.  We'll want tanks as soon as possible though, so I deploy Von Panzer at the northern base. He'll be able to hold off most of the enemies, though for that medium tank we're probably gonna want Selena in a medium tan-  WHAT?! Yeah, and even if we had the funds, we don't have the materials. You have got to be making GBS threads me. I just wanna see Selena... That Md tank on the HQ is our problem. No other ground units can take it on. Hmm... I see what you're saying. We've got to come up with a plan... It's all under control, don't worry. And indeed, it is. I've got a plan for that medium tank - lure it out with Von Panzer, and crush it with ranged units. Even a medium tank can't stand up to some well-positioned artillery. It's risky, but we've not got many other options.   Meanwhile, there's this weirdo.  I laugh only out of sheer boredom with the fools populating this inane continent. I must continue, though, for the sake of the black crystal objective.Oho! We learn something about what Black Hole's up to. But what the hell is the black crystal?  Good to see you're focussed on the goal at hand. I'll scout the southern area in a tank. Quiet. You are not fit to speak to me in such a tone, you who has betrayed your country. That's not how I remember it. What I remember is you invading my homeland, killing any resistance, and conscripting my people to work in your factories to achieve your secret ends. Oh? That may be true for the rest of your people, but you? Heh heh heh... You were different. You were willing to betray your country. That is why you shot up through the ranks to become an ACO, is it not? ...I have my reasons for partaking in this war. They just happen to slightly align with Black Hole's. Besides, given the choice between service or death... I'll take service any day. Heh heh heh... I look forward to watching you slaughter your fellow countrymen. Resent us all you like, but you know as well as I that you can never go back to Orange Star now. That is the steep, steep price of betrayal. Lord Koal! Enemy forces spotted! That decrepit guerilla force? They are beneath me. Battle them as you see fit. Er... They're actually allied troops led by a commanding officer. Truly? Then I shall see if there is a CO on this continent worthy of facing me. Heh heh heh... ... His mechs begin moving out, but the medium tank doesn't shift. The tank in the south, Madam Director, doesn't move either. Guess she's not going to attack until we get into her range. The primary threats, as you can see, are the anti-air and the recon. Von Panzer can wall them easily, and good job, too - they'd slaughter Carter given half the chance.  That bridge is going to be a vital chokepoint for this map, so let's grab it as quickly as we can.  Von Panzer moves out, and lands a solid hit on the recon as he does. That should send it packing.  Next stage of the plan is an artillery, so I deploy Lucy. "Von Panzer, have you sighted the enemy forces?" "Ja! They are bearing down on us. Ranged backup necessary!" Lucy nods. "I'm on my way - hang in there, guys!"  Down here, meanwhile, I decide to start capturing some stuff. A bit of extra money is always useful, and I'd rather not wander across the river to capture that base right now - the Director would win that fight. Dave will need some backup before he takes her on.  Let's see what Koal's got planned, other than "not a lot".  As predicted, the recon flees, leaving the city open for Von Panzer to sit on next turn. He'll be in range to bait the medium tank from there.  Not much of any other note happens, so let's get started with that plan, shall we?  What are you yelling about now? The Md tanks! I think I've come up with a strategy that'll take care of them.Oh, this should be good. How's that? I don't think those Md tanks move unless an enemy enters their attack range. Yeah, so? So first we produce an artillery unit and deploy it near the upper bridge. Way ahead of you. Then we send an armoured unit, like a tank, to the city at the end of the bridge. Done that too. Right. Then the Md tank rolls out to slam the unit on the city, and... The next turn the artillery unit takes aim and KA-BLOW! The old bait and switch. Too many artillery units and the enemy won't take the bait, though. Be careful. Artillery units can beat down even Md tanks, so just one of them should do it. Plus, I could always use a tank or mech unit to move in for the kill. We just can't give it any chance to repair itself at all. All right! Let's give it a shot! Am I on loving drugs? I had ALREADY come up with this plan! I'm in the process of doing it right now! I... Oh. That's why you've deployed... Well, that doesn't prove anything! It's a pretty basic plan; if you're such a tactical genius, of course you should have already thought of it. You're not going to give me credit for anything, are you? Sigh. Well, may as well execute the plan that I was already in the middle of executing. Dave captures the property down here, also. I'll send him back up to the mountains after this, so that he can go for the base across the river if the situation changes.  Lucy can move right into a perfect position to target the medium tank. Now to get our excellent, nigh-unkillable bait, Mathis Von Panzer...  And hey, may as well poke the anti-air whilst we're here. I don't want this thing wandering around when I have mechs near the front lines.  I produce another tank, Ingo. He'll help out up north, because after a medium tank hit, Von Panzer's gonna need all the help he can get. If he even makes it out unscathed. Hm, one medium tank..? Nah, he can definitely survive that on a city.  Let's see just how well this goes...  "Brace yourself!" Lucy cries as she sees the medium tank moving in. "Von Panzer, hold it together!" "You can do this, Von Panzer!" says Carter, watching in fear as the medium tank opens fire.  "Ngh! I am fine! I have faced far worse than that, Schwächling!" Von Panzer roars. He falls quiet, however...  ...As he sees the anti-air preparing to finish the job. I hadn't calculated for that. "The anti-air!" gasps Carter. "What the hell's going on up there? Is Von Panzer alright?!" Dave yells frantically. Carter makes as if to answer, and then he sees the anti-air fire on the weakened tank unit - the only thing between them and the medium tank. The bullets rip through the tank, and Lucy narrows her eyes. "Von Panzer's always alright. The unbreakable wall of Orange Star! ...Right?"  "Ach! You're correct, young Lucy." Von Panzer says through the transceiver. "I do one thing. But I do it well. I hold the line!" "Oh, thank heavens, he's OK!" Lucy sighs, slumping next to her artillery. "Get out of there, Von Panzer, as soon as you can! I'll take care of that medium tank!"  That was... a little closer than I was intending. If I'd chosen any tank other than Von Panzer, I'm sure I'd have lost them. But Von Panzer simply does not loving die, so we're all fine on that front. Now then, how to deal with all of this bullshittery?  First, like Lucy said, we'll fire on the medium tank. Halving it's HP makes it much less of a threat, though I'm not going to relax until it's completely gone.  Carter hops through the river to take out the anti-air. "This is for nearly killing Von Panzer! Hiyaaaa!"  Von Panzer pulls a swift retreat, safely behind the new tank, Ingo. He did heal 3HP from that city, though, thanks to Rachel. That might be useful.  Just gotta hop the medium tank doesn't retreat yet. I'm usually confident that units don't go to heal until they're on less than 2HP, but that recon retreating at 4HP makes me wonder if this game's AI is slightly different. It'd be nice to have confirmation on that.  This Dick Captures A Property: 2  The medium tank does not retreat, and instead punches Ingo in the face. It doesn't hurt that much, but it's still a pretty hefty blow.  And the recon, which has apparently healed up enough, is now going for Carter. That's a little spanner in the works, but Carter does quite a lot of damage to it in retaliation, so we'll probably be fine.  Right, let's get rid of that terrifying loving thing. (The medium tank, not the recon.)  Though we are going to be killing the recon as well - Carter gets quite a clean kill on it here.  Lucy can finish off the medium tank without breaking a sweat, and that's a pretty relieving thing to see. The only threat left on the map now is Koal's Super CO Power, which I'm concerned about. His mechs with +2 movement could be problematic once they've finished all their capturing, since they'll totally ignore my very cool chokepoint.  The medium tank left Ingo on 6HP, so joining with Von Panzer puts them back up to exactly 10.  How fortunate! That said, I'd like more tanks to help deal with the remaining enemy troops...  Up north I deploy Julian...  And down here I deploy Rin. "Oh, Dave!" Rin says, waving. "What are we doing down here?" "Right now, sittin' tight." Dave replies. "There's an enemy tank across the way... we might be able to get that base, but it'll be risky. Now that you're here though, we might be in with a chance." "Of course! I'll do anything I can to help!" "I shall cover the northern squad, in the meantime. Fear not about your impending demise - my skills should prevent you from meeting your end." Julian says, and Ingo rolls his eyes. "The only person who I'd entrust my life to is my dude. This guy's delusional." "I feel I must agree." Von Panzer sighs.  Koal's not got his biggest hitter any more, so we should be able to advance, provided he doesn't do anything wacky this turn.  This Dick Captures A Property: 3  Well, this might be a spanner in the works. The mech slams Von Panzer/Ingo since he finished his capturing last turn. We'll heal most of the damage off, though.  If Julian could get the hell over here ASAP, we could make a start on approaching the enemy HQ. I'd like to rout this map sometime in the next fortnight.  Especially since we have an extra-risky turn coming up. Lucy takes out the enemy mech, who was weakened by Von Panzer/Ingo, whilst Carter retreats back and lets Julian sit in front of him. Why, you ask?  Koal's got his SCOP charged, that's why. His mech is about to get +2 movement, and there's no way Carter can outrun him. So our tanks will be protecting our weaker units, Carter and Lucy, from the impending attack.  At least everything else threatening is dead, pretty much. The impending SCOP is also why we didn't move out to that base down south - Dave and Rin can probably handle the Director, but I'd rather fight her after the CO Power's worn off, rather than during it.  Oh, man, I'm gonna beg when this useless mech plinks away at my tanks.  We do have a slightly different SCOP animation than the previous game, though. First, this pops up...  And then we get a nice cut-in of the character. I also have to say, the powers themselves might be boring as all sin, but the names are pretty cool. You get minor respect points for that, Koal.  As predicted, the mech goes for one of the tanks. It doesn't do a whole lot of damage.  So, hey, let's murder it with Lucy and be on our merry way.  In the meantime, Dave's gonna cross the river and go for the base. I don't need it, but hey, it's something to do.  "The tank's noticed us, Rin." Dave says. "Get ready for a fight." "OK! You better stay safe - I'm on my way!" Rin replies, heading out.  Rin sits herself on the city. What with her being in a tank and having all those defence stars, there's no way the Director will go for her over Dave.  Right, NOW we slaughter the last mech with Lucy. She does a solid amount of damage to it, and the rest of our boys can forge ahead after that - but not too far, the artillery is still going to be a slight issue, especially if it keeps sitting on that city.  Seeing as it'll be another turn before we can move ahead, I decide to let Von Panzer/Ingo pull a retreat and heal on the base for a turn. Julian can deal with the mech in the meantime.  See? Easy. "I do believe our foes are almost routed." Julian says, smirking. "They were barely a threat." "Overconfidence is gonna get you killed, you know." Carter replies grumpily. "That's one thing I've learned from the rest of these guys!"  This is how we're all shaping up. Now it's just a case of wandering over to that artillery and poking it several times until it explodes. Oh, and the tank down south, too, but Rin's got that under control.  As expected, the Director moves in. Now I have a chance to assess the strength of this group for myself. I've heard much about their exploits in the past... just how true are those reports?"Wh... what the hell?!" Dave says as the tank opens fire on him. "Dave? What's up?" Carter asks on the transceiver. "I just got visual on the tank attacking me. There's a woman, and... well, it's very damaged, but it's unmistakeable." "What is?" Lucy asks. "She's wearing Sturm's mask!" Dave says, and the rest of the troops aren't sure how to react. Rin shivers, thinking about the imposing figure of Sturm, long-thought to be dead. "Sturm's mask... why would some random ACO have that?" she murmurs. "I don't know, but I don't like it. I need backup, Rin - let's take her out."  Right, let's press our advantage already. This map's difficulty kind of died along with the medium tank, so there's not much to do but, you know, win.  Dave countered for some damage, so Rin can weaken the Director even further. He might even be able to finish her off, come to think of it.  "You want a taste of what Orange Star can do? Well, then," Dave growls. "Lemme show you the heavy ordnance we're packin'!" The shots blast through the tank, rendering it a pile of junk in a matter of moments, though as the smoke clears, the masked woman is nowhere to be seen. drat... I've been defeated. But I can't fall here; I must make my retreat."Just who on earth was that, Dave?" Rin asks. "I've no idea. But I don't think we've seen the last of her." the hardy soldier mutters in reply. He nurses his wounded arm. "Right... let's finish capturing this base."  The rest of the troops surge forward, preparing to beat this final enemy.  I can only imagine how much this one artillery is making GBS threads itself. Ranged units are fantastic, but not like this. Not when they're surrounded on all sides.  And so, to nobody's surprise, it doesn't move or attack. So, guess we'll have to start the party.  Julian lands a hit on the foe, but it's not quite a kill. I targeted it from the HQ, though, preventing the artillery from sitting on the HQ, getting those sweet 4 defence stars and regular healing.  Dave's injured, which slows down his capturing, but he's still got enough juice to do it in another two turns; which is good, because the map'll be over by next turn.  Everyone else advances, though I can't see myself needing any of them. Julian'll finish it next turn.  We're at my favourite part of the map now, the classic "the enemy does fuckall becase they can't do anything".  Well, OK, the artillery flees to a nearby city, but I'm not counting that as doing something. It's just extending the inevitable.  See, look? Map's almost done and I didn't even need your airstrikes, loving amazing as they would have been. I suppose I got them prepared for nothing. Not bad. Wait, they're prepared? Screw it, then, let's style on this guy. Call an airstrike on that artillery. ...You mean the damaged artillery? It would be pointless! It's going to be destroyed next turn anyway! Yeah, but like, it would be very satisfying. And also crush this guy's ego a bit. Fine, but it's coming out of your paycheck! Hold on a sec. Subtract that... Carry the two... I've calculated that it would be totally worth it. Call the airstrike! I seriously can't believe we're doing this. Woo! Here we go! Come on, Koal deserves this after talking all that smug poo poo earlier.  You said it, Rachel. Missile them to kingdom gently caress!  The name may not be that cool, but it's undeniably a neat power to have on tap. Much better than the CO Power, anyway...  BOOM! The first blast brings the artillery down to 1HP already. Unsurprisingly, like Meteor Strike and other out-of-combat damage, this doesn't kill. It'd be even more stupid if it did.  BLAM! The second strike. Unnecessary, but amazing. Now missilinate it once more!  BRAKKOW! A final hit just to remind the artillery just how much it's about to die. How'd you feel now, Koal? We had airstrikes the whole time, and instead of using them to help win the map, we used them to style on you. Fuckin' loser.  And, right on cue, Dave finishes capturing the base, so we're all done here. Julian, if you wouldn't mind?  Julian tosses a rock at the enemy artillery, and with it on literally 1% HP, the rock is all it takes to send it flying into the air with a spectacular explosion.  Now I'm certain. It must be Commander my dude. That... that mask! It can't be... Who you calling misfits, circus freak? Oh, you must be that gung ho gorilla, Max, yes? I see... So Cosmo Land has sent reinforcements to join in the fun? Heh heh heh... This pleases me greatly. Perhaps you can entertain me after all. Stop talking like that! It's creepy! How did you get here? Who are you? And what's with your masked friend? This is Black Hole we're talking about. They're gonna brag for a bit, and then not tell us anything useful. We have no time to waste on you. But you may call me the Director. And my name is Koal. It is a name you would do well to remember, little girl. Little girl?! My name's Rachel! And why are you so scared to tell me why you're here? Black Hole is responsible for turning Omega Land into a wasteland, isn't it? Heh heh heh... I'm not ready to spill that juicy secret just yet. You'll find out soon enough. This land will be as devoid of beauty as your face. Wha--?! Oh, SNAP! Can't you be on my side just ONE time?! Heh heh... Farewell, fools! Let us retreat. There's nothing more we can do here. Hey! They're gone. That woman... why does she feel so familiar? That's a lot of sass from such a small man! You're the one who got owned!Oh my god, Jake. I don't know if I want you to never stop saying stuff, or to never speak again. That pasty-faced weirdo is not getting away with this! Let's get out of here, Jake. The battle's over, but we're still in danger. Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking the same thing... You better watch your back, Koal! And whoever you are, Director, I'll figure you out! Hey, my dude. Yeah? You... were... good. On the battlefield. Just now. Aw. That was really hard for you to say, wasn't it? I'm TRYING to give you a compliment! If you're going to be like that, I won't bother from now on. You're the most arrogant ACO I've ever worked with! Something to think about : if every CO and ACO you've worked with is arrogant or annoying, maybe you're the problem. Well, we won, anyhow. 97 points for speed - must've been a day late. Wonder how I would have pulled off a quicker victory than that?  Nobody called you cute. In fact, Koal called you the opposite of that, so...  Anyway, another mission done, and there's another one for next time. Judging by that name, seems like we'll be having a naval tutorial. All aboard for more loving dialogue! Nah, I jest. I'm actually enjoying all the new characters; even Jake is sort of hilariously stupid. So, see you all next time, folks! *** Part 6 (Intermission) - The Imbalance Of Time cosmicPostman fucked around with this message at 10:34 on Aug 5, 2022 |
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Oct 8, 2021 14:08
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Also next time is something I'm really interested to see how you handle writing-wise.
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Oct 8, 2021 18:36
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cosmicPostman posted:
[GAAAAAAAAASP] It's... it's... my dude's ex! 
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Oct 8, 2021 19:38
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So just like Jugger has more or less replaced Flak, Koal's going to end up taking Adder's place here. The road gimmick is at least a bit more interesting than Adder's just being vanilla with movement powers (but, on the other hand, Koal's power costs are slightly less efficient, and he can't do Adder's trick of using his regular power two days in a row with a full bar; you win some, you lose some). I don't know all the specifics of how Rachel's power targets, but my understanding is each of the missiles has a different priority (it's something like one of them tries to do the most money value in damage, one tries to target the biggest group of units, etc). Her power would be absolutely disgusting if you got to place the missiles manually. AweStriker posted:Also next time is something I'm really interested to see how you handle writing-wise. I've been thinking this about most of what's coming in this game, honestly, and how the new characters are going to fit into things. (Especially since I don't know how far ahead Postman might have looked in the script for planning purposes. If we're going entirely seat of the pants here... let's just say I can't wait to see it.)
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Oct 8, 2021 20:13
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Explopyro posted:So just like Jugger has more or less replaced Flak, Koal's going to end up taking Adder's place here. The road gimmick is at least a bit more interesting than Adder's just being vanilla with movement powers (but, on the other hand, Koal's power costs are slightly less efficient, and he can't do Adder's trick of using his regular power two days in a row with a full bar; you win some, you lose some). Oh, for sure, manual missiles would be absolutely insane. I mean, it's still a great power even besides that - I'll have to try it out on a less, uh, silly target next time. Koal does seem to be the Adder replacement, but honestly, the fact that he doesn't have the ability to spam his powers makes him way less annoying. Jury's still out on whether I find him a better character than Adder, though. Jugger's still the best Black Hole CO, closely followed by Hawke/Lash. Whilst Hawke might be stern, I don't know if I can call him boring after the poo poo he pulls in AW2, and he has some fun interactions with the other Black Hole COs. I'm hoping he'll be back in this one and continuing to be ten steps ahead of everyone else. AweStriker posted:Also next time is something I'm really interested to see how you handle writing-wise. Explopyro posted:I've been thinking this about most of what's coming in this game, honestly, and how the new characters are going to fit into things. (Especially since I don't know how far ahead Postman might have looked in the script for planning purposes. If we're going entirely seat of the pants here... let's just say I can't wait to see it.) I'll admit, I have not played ahead, though I have at least seen the opening dialogue of the next mission (I'm now doing that to check whether there's any more CO votes coming up, primarily). Just like AW2, this is a mostly-blind run, which means "haven't played the game, but I've played previous ones so I vaguely know what I'm in for". I've had a bit of advice from SMaster777, with whom I discussed some of my ideas for this LP on Discord in the run-up to the first part, but otherwise, yeah... I am flying by the seat of my pants, which is a terrifying prospect when I'm trying to write in my own narrative, but hey, that's part of the fun.
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Oct 8, 2021 20:26
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cosmicPostman posted:Oh god am I going to regret everything Spoiler! There is absolutely a timed mission later that's utterly miserable The reason it's miserable has absolutely nothing to do with it being timed. Also...Oh my, an AWDS LP? I'm bookmarking this one.
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Oct 8, 2021 22:38
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cosmicPostman posted:
This made me laugh. I expect we'll be seeing this quote a lot. The Black Hole Super CO Power music got one hell of a glow-up in the transition to the DS soundfont. EDIT: Also regarding Max's comment on Nell, remember that he, Grit and Nell all went to the academy (or whatever) together so they both might have gotten to see a very different side of her before she became a strong, mature woman. SoundwaveAU fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Oct 9, 2021 |
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Oct 9, 2021 00:26
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I have a guess as to who the Director really is already.... though I'm not gonna say my guess here. CP's already seen it though, and he thinks its an interesting guess. Oh, and Rachel's SCOP targets as such: 1st Missile: Largest group of Infantry it can hit, priority given to active captures 2nd Missile: Highest Funds Damage, subtracting Rachel's own units 3rd Missile: Highest HP Damage with Funds breaking ties, again subtracting Rachel's own. SMaster777 fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Oct 9, 2021 |
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Oct 9, 2021 01:52
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Yeahhh I would... at least read through the dialogue? I appreciate you putting that sort of challenge ahead, but I'm sure there's a fansite somewhere that can just provide what the summaries of each mission's nattering is. (I am too suppressed by pain killers right now to deep dive my google engine at the moment, apologies) If nothing else, you can avoid seeing the actual mission.
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Oct 9, 2021 02:01
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IIRC in one of the previous LPs of this game someone discussed Koal at some point, and I think that it is more fair to compare him to Jake, of all COs, since they actually have a few things in common. Jake gets a power boost from plains, which aren't great to attack from because they only give 1 def star, but it isn't nothing. Koal meanwhile needs to give up all defense if he wants to use his offensive boost. Jake's powers also make his indirects more useful, a range boost beating a movement boost for them pretty much any day, and gives a slightly better attack boost as well. Plus, plains are really, really common, but roads are a bit less so, making the road warrior gimmick stapled onto not-adder here just kind of underwhelming. It tries to differentiate him from Adder, but ultimately doesn't help him much, especially since his COP gauge is 3/5 to Adder's 2/5, so he can't do some of the tricks Adder could either. I as I was looking at all this I kind of realized, where Jugger is Flack, but more, Koal tries to be Adder with a day to day, but mostly fails at both those goals. I dunno, this was just kind of stream of consciousness.
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Oct 9, 2021 04:21
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Koal is a slightly more offensively-specced Adder, imo. Adder has no D2D but with his ability to be almost constantly in COP mode he essentially has a 10% defense boost most days, while Koal is going to be relying more on his offensive D2D boost since his COP doesn't come around quite as often. Koal looks better on paper but Adder has the edge overall, since defense wins over offense in AW and Koal has to give up all of his to take advantage of the road boost.
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Oct 9, 2021 04:29
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Koal is Adder but with worse writing. Same with Jugger being Flak with worse writing, but he still managed to at least hit a note that's charming in its own way. And it wouldn't be so jarring if some of the old Black Hole buddies weren't still around but Koal and Flak have been replaced without a single line.
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Oct 9, 2021 06:46
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The important thing is that hard mode let's you pick any CO for each map and they gave you flak and adder as bonus characters, so you can rework the plot into flak and adder's quest for revenge after getting fired and replaced with cheap knock offs.
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Oct 9, 2021 13:12
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Drakenel posted:Yeahhh I would... at least read through the dialogue? I appreciate you putting that sort of challenge ahead, but I'm sure there's a fansite somewhere that can just provide what the summaries of each mission's nattering is. (I am too suppressed by pain killers right now to deep dive my google engine at the moment, apologies) I have read through the script! The maps are still all gonna be blind, don't worry, but at the very least I don't have to panic about writing myself into a corner. I think I've got some interesting ideas for where to take my characters and their arcs, fitting into the overarching narrative. Thanks for the suggestion! SoundwaveAU posted:This made me laugh. I expect we'll be seeing this quote a lot. Ah, yes, I had forgotten about their past together. I suppose that does make sense then. And yes, we'll be seeing a lot of that quote in future maps. For the uninitiated: here. FoolyCharged posted:The important thing is that hard mode let's you pick any CO for each map and they gave you flak and adder as bonus characters, so you can rework the plot into flak and adder's quest for revenge after getting fired and replaced with cheap knock offs. You don't even know how tempting an idea that sounds after this LP, but correct me if I'm wrong, Paul_Power's done/doing an AWDS Hard Campaign LP recently, right? He's probably better off doing the Hard Campaign stuff, he's much better at it than I. Besides, I've got Dark Conflict/Days of Ruin to do after AWDS. (Oh, that reminds me, though, does anyone have a completed AWDS save with the hard campaign unlocked and/or know where to find one? I need it for something later on in the LP.) Alkydere posted:Koal is Adder but with worse writing. Same with Jugger being Flak with worse writing, but he still managed to at least hit a note that's charming in its own way. It does seem kind of weird that they're not even mentioned. Especially considering some of the old AW2 Black Hole COs show up, so it's not even like they've all been replaced. Just two of them.
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Oct 9, 2021 16:00
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cosmicPostman posted:(Oh, that reminds me, though, does anyone have a completed AWDS save with the hard campaign unlocked and/or know where to find one? I need it for something later on in the LP.) bet you didn't expect to see a gamefaqs link in 2021
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Oct 9, 2021 17:16
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Hey, folks, quick update: a bit of the old Real Life(TM) has hit and I'm gonna be super busy tomorrow, so I won't be able to get an update out. We'll be back to normal schedule next week, my apologies for the delay. Hope you're all well in the meantime!
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Oct 14, 2021 19:56
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Oh hey, welcome back! Jake does not get a range boost on his direct vehicles, sadly - but his powers letting him be a mini-Grit with his rockets and artillery can certainly come in handy at times. A power boost on plains is a little awkward because you generally want to take better cover most of the time, but at least plains are very common tiles so he gets his boost often. It's defeinitely annoying that Max loses the movement boost on his powers in Dual Strike, although to compensate he does get extra firepower (I think Max Blast takes it up to +90%?) which is good for busting open chokepoints. He does get a bit of a stealth buff in this game due to a change in how power charge mechanics work (long story short, it's no longer tied directly to unit cost: of particular note for Max is that recons now fill an entire star on the power meter, making sending out a few harassing sacrificial recons a very strong tactic in this game) I can't remember if anyone's mentioned this, but Lash got nerfed down to 5% attack boost per terrain star, rather than 10%. I think this might have been to make the new terrain based COs like Jake, Koal and a certain other CO we'll be meeting eventually stand out. It is annoying for her though. Rachel is a generally solid CO. The repair boost is sometimes nice, sometimes annoying when it drains more money from your coffers than you hoped. Covering Fire is kind of bonkers, though, especially on small maps. It's less reliable than a Winter Fury, Tsunami or Black Storm for just dealing crushing amounts of general field damage, but like all mass damage powers it's really great to have around, and competitively priced at only six stars. Jugger is... yeah, he's Flak but with an even wider damage spread and with an extra star on his SCOP for some reason. At least it lets you double-COP if you really want to. And he has fun dialogue Koal is generally speaking worse than Adder - losing the one thing that made Adder what he was in the two-star Sideslip, and gaining a boost on roads which... well, deliberately attacking from plains is already kinda silly, but hoo boy. Trail of Woe is kinda all right for what it costs though. For what it's worth, (unlike Sturm) Flak and Adder are available to play in Vs., War Room and the new Survival mode also Hard Campaign, which lets you play as any CO you've unlocked - which often makes things easier... - but they do not show up in the story. Let your creative writing skills make of that what they will .... also yes I'm aware that I need to get back to my own LP at some point. There are some small problems with that: I'm now working full time, my desktop computer's big hard drive is borked, it was really struggling to emulate and record missions with a lot of units anyway, and hey guess what mission's next. I would like to figure something out though. Maybe I need a new PC, or a new recording setup, or something. Paul.Power fucked around with this message at 15:37 on Oct 16, 2021 |
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Oct 16, 2021 15:01
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Part 7 (Battle) - Finally, Some Good loving Selena Welcome back, folks! Sorry for the delay, but we're back at it with a new map once more. And, hey, look who's here!   Ah! I see tents! We're here, Sister! Yes, and so it begins. Commander Rachel! Blue Moon COs are here! They're on their way in now. I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to the allied forces frontline HQ. it's a party all year round shut up Thank you. My name is Sasha. It's an honor for our country to fight alongside yours. The honor is ours. Let's pool our resources and defeat Black Hole's army. Colin, introduce yourself. Oh, I'm Colin of Blue Moon, sir! I'll do my best for the cause! I heard you were instrumental in winning the last war. He was there for the final battle, very true. But it was mostly me. ACOs don't get credit. As far as the history books will remember, Kanbei, Colin and Eagle won that battle. Wait, what-- Anyway, it's good to have you aboard. S-sir, thank you, sir! Thank you very much! And your famous leader, Commander Olaf? Did he come with you here? Commander Olaf is still in Macro Land, defending the motherland. His hometown was ravaged... He sends his regrets that he is unable to join us. I see... I was looking forward to meeting him, but I understand the situation. Hey, it's Colin! Long time, no see, little buddy! Max! So you're here, too? You don't think I'd let those Black Hole losers do whatever they want, do you? Is that your sister, Colin? What a babe! It's nice to meet you. My brother has told me all about you, Commander Max. Max, you freak! Watch how you speak to our allies! What's up, Blue Moon crew? We're gonna kick some Black Hole butt, am I right? Oh, please! Not you, too, Jake! ...My dude, no scathing comments to add? Nope. I'm just enjoying you being annoyed at people other than me for a change. ...Heh. It's OK, Command--er, I mean Rachel. We're going to be fighting side by side, so there's no reason for us to be overly formal, is there? EXACTLY! God, preaching to the choir, Sasha. Yeah, she's right. We're in for some rough times together, so let's be friends! Commander! Enemy forces to the west! Land and sea units, both! Understood. Looks like we're going to have to end this welcoming party early. Rachel, please let us handle this. Colin and I need to see the enemy for ourselves. But...err...ummm... C'mon, Rachel! It'll be fine. Let Blue Moon show us what they can do! Watching them fight would rock! And...er...I'm sure I'd learn a lot, too. I suppose so, then. Oh--take my dude with you, too. Your finest ACO? But he'll be away from your side for quite a while if he comes with us. Are you sure? Trust me, you'd be doing me a huge favour. Please, god, yes. The less time here with HER, the better. Superb! It's decided then. Let's go survey the battlefield. Come, Colin. Right behind you! And on with the mission! Here's the deployments for today - mostly Blue Moon soldiers, fittingly. Today’s Deployments Boris, Infantry Dimitri, Tank Ivan, Artillery Nika, APC Fred, Rockets Alina, Battle Copter Eva, Battleship Valeria, Cruiser Selena, Submarine Ludmilla, Lander Boris Age: 32 Personality: Usually grumpy, always complaining. Proficiencies: Infantry, Medium Tank, Anti-Air, [unknown] Dimitri Volkov Age: 33 Personality: Legendary leader of men. Proficiencies: Mech, Tank, Neotank, [unknown] Ivan Age: 34 Personality: Chilled out, constantly relaxed. Proficiencies: Infantry, Artillery, Transport Copter, [unknown] Nika Age: 25 Personality: Friendly, talented mercenary engineer. Proficiencies: Submarine, Mech, APC, Battle Copter Fred Age: 27 Personality: Lives for battle thrills. Proficiencies: Rockets, Battle Copter, Medium Tank, Neotank Alina Age: 26 Personality: Brave, scatterbrained mercenary leader. Proficiencies: Mech, Battle Copter, Submarine, Bomber Eva Age: 24 Personality: Intelligent but compulsive gambler. Proficiencies: Rockets, Missiles, Battleship, [unknown] Valeria Age: 30 Personality: Mercenary scout, quite detached. Proficiencies: Cruiser, Submarine, Anti-Air, [unknown] Selena Age: 25 Personality: Confident soldier, restless sleeper. Proficiencies: Submarine, Medium Tank, Neotank, [unknown] Ludmilla Age: 25 Personality: Kind, helpful, sexually liberated. Proficiencies: APC, Lander, Recon, Anti-Air And is that MOTHER loving SELENA HARTFORD??? Finally, best girl is back with us.  Take command. I'll back you up. Don't worry. You've got the numbers to pull this off. This is a fight you can win. Oh, OK. I'll give it a shot. I hired some mercenaries to help out, so hopefully... Make sure you keep track of your air and naval units' fuel supplies. Don't forget that you can supply them with your APC. OK! The enemy's awfully close, though. This is going to be quite a battle. It's OK. Don't be nervous. I'm going to walk you through this step by step. And my dude's here to help. Speaking of...I don't believe we've formally met. I'm Sasha. You're Nell's husband? Yup--my dude, of Orange Star. Pleasure to meet ya! The pleasure's mine. Colin and Commander Olaf have told me a lot about your performance in the previous two wars against Black Hole. I must say, I'm excited to see your prowess for myself. I'll try not to disappoint, then. Right, Colin--ready to go? Y-yes! I think so, sir!Sasha explains botes, but we already know how they work. Battleships are long range and hit like a truck, submarines can dive to hide from attacks and kill pretty much any bote you point them at, and cruisers suck.  "Did Colin mention we've got some backup on the way?" Dimitri asks over the transceiver. "Yeah, it should be here soon. With any luck." Boris grumbles. "Couple of Orange Star soldiers, and a few mercs." "Mercs, huh? I wonder..." Dimitri mutters. "Oh, hello, here they come now." The conversation between the mercenaries who have just arrived can be heard quite loudly over the transceivers - it seems to be a couple, arguing. “Wait, why have you only charged 80% of our usual rate? We’re mercenaries, honey, not charity workers.” “Oh, well, um… Commander Colin was just so… I felt sorry for him! He looked like a lost puppy when he was hiring us, and I thought the reduced rate would be fair, seeing as we fought for Blue Moon last campaign…” “Wait, Colin hired us? He’s got so much money! You should’ve charged more, if anything!” Dimitri bursts out laughing, and Ivan raises an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me…” “Yes, you can hear them bickering a mile off, can’t you?” comes a refined voice. “I believe we’ve all met before, so let’s make the introductions quick - I am Valeria, and they’re Eva and Alina - along with Nika, once more, the Snowbound Free Company have decided to lend their services to Blue Moon.” “It’ll be a pleasure fighting alongside you all again, Alina.” Dimitri says. “And I with you! Seems like we’ve got some Orange Star soldiers here too, how exciting!” beams Alina. “Let’s do our best then - just like old times!” “Oh, man, here we go…” Alina’s long-suffering girlfriend, Eva, says, sighing. “I’m just gonna say it, though - I’m not putting in 100% if we’re not earning 100%.” Right, let's get on with the battle now, shall we? First things first, I want to check that Colin is still the same disgustingly overpowered CO he was in the previous game.  This looks promising. I enjoy that "Sasha" is not among his list of Likes. I kinda vibe with your sister, Colin, not gonna lie.  Yup, they look the same to me. Nice, so he can still do stupid things with money. What else..?  Excellent, that also looks the same. So he can get units for 80% of their price, but they have 90/100 attack/defence. Absolutely busted. I can't wait to use him on a deployment map.  No deployment map for us right now, though, so we may as well get going. First things first, Eva opens fire on the enemy cruiser. This thing is the only real threat to Alina's air superiority on the map, and I want to have her harass the battleship, so the cruiser's gotta go.  Fred can finish it off, no problem. You have to feel sorry for enemy units that start their first turn in range of our units. It's practically a free kill.  Next, we'll need some of our land units to vaguely make their way to the south-east island to kill Lash's ground units. I doubt she's going to leave them all in range of Eva. So, to that end, Boris gets into Ludmilla's APC. Nearly said "Boris gets inside Ludmilla". "Hey there, Bo." Ludmilla says, giving the man an easygoing smile. "Been a while. How're you doing?" "I'm fine. I'll be better once Black Hole are done with. We moving?" "Not one for conversation, then." Ludmilla sighs, rolling her eyes. "Right, let's get going, then. Heads up, Nika!"  "Come on board, I'm ready for you!" Nika says cheerfully, readying her lander. So Ludmilla's APC, and Ivan in the artillery, get onto Nika's lander. I'll probably just send Boris to capture the buildings on the middle island. I suppose the extra money will help improve Colin's Super CO Power.  ...Just gotta be careful where exactly I put them. Sticking them into battleship range would be an easy mistake to make, and as you can see, there's a shoal in the ship's range. Unfortunately for Lash, whilst Colin might be that stupid, I am not, and will avoid putting anything there.  I drop our gents and Ludmilla off. We'll have to go back for Dimitri next turn.  Right, now the cruiser's gone and everything else is dealt with, let's start on that battleship. Alina can't do much damage, but it's solid enough.  This fucker, though. This fucker's going to be trouble. The way I see it, the only thing in range it can attack is Valeria, currently, and a submarine initiating on a cruiser is, tactically speaking, what we call a Big L.  So I decide, hey, why not let Lash do something dumb? I move everyone around in such a way that Valeria is still the only viable target for the enemy submarine. It'll either initiate and get wrecked for its trouble, or run away, both of which are good outcomes for me. Selena, meanwhile, gives me a smile. She knows I'm the one giving the orders. "Commander my dude. It's a pleasure to fight for you again... do keep your eyes on the battle, though, alright?" "I will, provided you look after yourself. Now show 'em what you can do, Miss Hartford." Selena gives a grin. "With pleasure."  And with that, I decide to end my turn-  What? No, those two units have orders! Dimitri's is "wait there until we can come get you" and Valeria's is "murder anything that gets near you".  Just to stop Sasha bitching at me, I click Wait on those two units, and then she graciously allows me to proceed to the enemy phase.  Let's see how the other side lives, shall we?  Couldn't we...uhhh...rethink this? No! No! No! We can always build more units! As many as we need! Everything's disposable. Everything!Good to see Lash has become, if anything, even more unhinged since we last saw her like four missions ago. What's the point of having all this stuff if we don't get to break it!? Disposable? But... Quiet, you! I'm the one who designed our power source, the black crystal. So any ordnance we make with it is mine to play with! Tee hee hee! Attack! Uhhh... Can somebody please talk some sense into Commander Lash? Please?Of all the characters from AW2 they brought back in Dual Strike, I'm glad they went with "that one sassy Black Hole soldier". He's my favourite.  The sub decides not to gently caress with Valeria, which is a good decision, and instead dives vaguely near my battleship.  The rest of the enemies just kinda shuffle about. Nothing major.  That said, I may as well take advantage of that sub coming very close to us - we can get engage it without getting into range of the rockets or battleship now.  Annoyingly, Lash had the same loving idea - both of her ranged units are juuuust out of Eva's range. She did that on purpose.  "Eva, you can't shoot, right?" Alina asks. "Nope, not from here. Even that Landon guy couldn't make that shot." Eva sighs. "Too risky, and I can't believe it's ME saying that." "Not to worry, honey! This is what I'm for - I'll keep strafing it as it moves towards you, alright?" Eva nods. "If you say so, babe." "These pet names are going to be the death of me." sighs Boris. "Aw, I think it's cute." Ludmilla replies. You know, whilst Alina's attacking the ship, let's check and see if Valeria can do any-  Cruisers suck.  They can still do other useful things, though, like finding submarines. Here's the one we saw earlier! "Submarine sighted. Free to engage, Selena?" Valeria announces. "Ready." Selena replies. "Moving in now - I'll make quick work of it."  Indeed, Selena does a number to the poor sub, though she takes a little counter damage. If I'd been a slightly smarter tactician, and slightly less biased against cruisers, it would have probably been better to find the sub with Selena, and then attack it with Valeria, rather than the other way around. Ah well. You’re doing well so far. Your command of the battlefield feels so natural. I’ve been doing this for a while now. You get used to it. So, Sasha, did you say Olaf talked about me? He did, yes. Every now and then--usually after a few drinks at the Christmas party. Man, what was that like? That guy was usually frothing at the mouth in fury every time I saw him, so I can’t imagine it was very coherent. I think he’s grown to respect you at this point. Though he does sometimes mention that he’ll “get him next time”... Commander Olaf spoke at length about your incredible prowess during your first encounter some years ago, sir! Do you remember? He went on about how you were a virtually unbeatable military commander, able to outpace him in every battle. Wait, our first…? Oh, dude. I was in training during that! I didn’t even know what I was doing! You were…? Oh. That, um, re-contextualises things a bit… Oh, Commander Olaf… somehow, this doesn’t surprise me. Anyway, let's pick up Dimitri, our main man. We could probably use a tank, come to think of it.  Everyone else just gathers up, ready to push forward once the enemy battleship and rockets are out of the way. I must admit, this could be a scary turn for Selena, in range of both the battleship and the enemy sub, with 8HP...  "Selena, the battleship's aiming for you! Should you not retreat?" Alina says, panicking as she watches the battleship, far below, turning its enormous cannons over to the section of ocean Selena is in. "I'm an Orange Star soldier. We don't retreat for nothing."  "Besides..." Selena murmurs. "My dude always makes sure I'll survive. He's calculated everything. I'm certain." As the BOOM of battleship fire echoes across the ocean, Selena narrows her eyes. "This is a test of faith. And my faith in Commander my dude is just the same as everyone else's - absolutely unshakeable. He's unbeatable." "You're drat right. Trust him, Selena. Trust him with everything you've got!" Dimitri cries. The battleship fire rips through Selena's submarine and the surrounding ocean, churning the water. For a few moments, nobody can see through the froth, but soon...  "Hmph. I'm not known as my dude's best soldier for nothing, you know." Selena replies. "It'll take more than that to down me - now then, everyone, let's forge ahead. We've got an opening, and we can take good advantage of it." Phew! I was really nervous for a seco- "What about the enemy sub?" asks Fred. ...Oh, right. That. gently caress. The submarine prepares its assault. Mistress Lash, I'm in position to fire on- W-wait! Not that one! Do not kill, you hear me?! She's important to our plans! Mistress Lash..? Uh, if you say so. "It's gone for me! You're in the clear, Selena - a lucky break, huh?!" Eva cries, as the weakened submarine strikes her. Selena narrows her eyes. "...I suppose so, but why? Lash could have easily..." she murmurs. "What on earth is she playing at?"  This absolute Einstein of an infantry decides to attack Alina, a battle copter.  ...Yeah, it goes about as well as you would expect.  Well, that was an interesting turn for several reasons. Let's get on with killing all of the things, shall we? I'll breathe easier once the battleship and sub are done for.  Thankfully, we no longer need to poke it with Alina. I thought the battleship might be tempted to fire on Selena, so I moved Fred into range, and the battleship prioritised attacking my girl over getting the gently caress out of the way. So, no more battleship! Thanks, Fred!  The sub can just as easily be crushed by Valeria, so yeah, we're all done in terms of naval fights. ...Well, OK, the lander, but how hard can killing a lander be?  In the interest of bringing some heavier land-based firepower over to the other island, Ivan hops back into Ludmilla also. Ivan and Dimitri should be able to handle the tank and rockets on the island, especially with Alina's air support.  Boris is just grumpily capturing stuff and wondering why he doesn't get to do anything fun.  Well, we can't really approach until the rockets are weakened or destroyed, so Alina makes a start on them. Maybe that suicidal infantry will keep attacking her on the enemy phase, that would be fun.  We're all in position, now. We just have to be careful not to over-extend until the rockets are gone. Lash probably has her CO Power now, too. Probably should've checked that, huh.  Yeah, no, I destroyed several botes, which are expensive as all hell. She definitely has it.  Oh yeah, there we go. Thank goodness most of the threatening things are dead already.  I have not missed this, Lash, I promise you.  The tank harasses Alina a bit, but that's not too annoying. No, the worst part is this:  Her rockets pull a retreat to the HQ. Under the effect of Prime Tactics, I will remind you, that's eight loving defence stars. Yeah, we're not breaking through that with just a battle copter this turn.  So, Lash has bought herself some extra time. Let's see if we can do anything to harass her vaguely in the meantime, and we can do our proper attack next turn. Ooh, I can get Eva in place to fire at the HQ, too.  Boris is capturing things! It is... not very useful on this map!  I don't know what's more impressive, that these rockets are taking barely 19% from a copter attack, or that even after eight loving defence stars, Alina is still doing 19% damage.  It's like that question of "If you slap yourself and it hurts, are you strong or weak?" (The answer, obviously, is "Neither, what you are is an idiot for slapping yourself.") Anyway, my units are in position for when Lash loses all her defensive bonuses next turn.  And now, it's time for that classic Advance Wars map trope...  That's right, it's the "turn where nothing happens"! So, let's make something happen, since Lash obviously isn't willing to.  First, Eva's now in range to fire on the rockets, which is excellent.  And that's more like it, Alina. gently caress those rockets up.  Meanwhile, Selena's reached the lander and- Oh. This... this is going to take a while, isn't it? I'd better get Valeria up there ASAP to help.  Boris is continuing to capture stuff. Colin's almost got his Super CO Power, so hey, every bit of money will increase Selena's damage, right..?  Lash you have no units left, what are you even doing with your turns now  Mildly irritating Alina, apparently.  Welp, it's our turn. Let's see if we can't clear out these last few enemies.  God, we're not doing much damage to this thing. It'll heal 2 per turn, too... drat it. Even my battleship isn't gonna help much..?  Well, we can drop off Dimitri, anyway. He'll be able to help out - I'm keeping Ivan away for now, since he's an artillery, and a bit squishier than Dimitri.  Now then, let's really ramp up the damage. 20k, that's a lot, right?  You sure aren't, Colin. Or at least, I hope not. I like you.  C A P I T A L I S M  In honour of all of the Advance Wars AI who activate their SCOP and then immediately and POWERFULLY capture something, I decided to powerfully finish capturing this thing with Boris. Right, onto the main event now.  Siiiiigh.  See this image? I regret saying this like five minutes ago.  At least Alina can delete you on the way up there.  ...Yes, I know copters can't fire on landers. I had forgotten in the heat of battle, alright? I bet it's happened to all of you at least once or twice, cut me some slack.  ......Yes, I know I make this can/can't fire mistake at least twice per campaign. I never learn.  Cue me, making the mistake.  At least Selena can keep poking it. Sigh. I will say, I did play this map again and finished it in 5 days with some more aggressive, slightly riskier plays, but I wanted the actual update to be my first, blind attempt at this map, and will probably keep doing that (unless my blind attempts involve losing units, at which point I may reset or replay, as per usual). But yes, I promise I'm better than this.  Dimitri can make a good start on the tank, at least. "Enemies nearly defeated out here. How's it looking everywhere else?" Dimitri asks. "Things are quiet up here." Boris replies. "Working on it..!" Selena says. "Some backup would be nice." "Valeria's on her way - I see her!" Alina replies. "Hang in there, Selena!"  And hey, look, we can finish off the tank, and thus every actual threat on the map, with one last hit from Eva.  Lash, uh, can't do anything now. So no point showing these.  And rather than a million screenshots saying "Selena shot them again", may as well just skip to the end.  Even with Valeria helping, it takes a couple more days, but soon, the lander is down to 1 HP. Let's take it out, Selena!  Wait, where's- Oh, my god, she's out of ammunition. That's embarrassing. Right, Plan B - VALERIA!  thanks valeria  That's what you get, Lash! What is it with you and these wasteful, foolish battles?He's definitely referring to Two-Week Test here, where he won by doing absolutely nothing. Still can't loving believe that worked... Shut it! YOU are NOT going to lecture ME! You're not the boss of me! I'm gonna pay you back for the last war! You better get ready! How utterly childish. I mean, she IS a child. To be fair. I suppose. Under different circumstances, she could have been a brilliant commander. What a shame. Man, wait until I introduce you to Rose Kuroda. Now there's a child who's a brilliant commander. Rose Kuroda? I'm not familiar with the name. Oho, we've got so much to talk about. You spanked 'em, Colin! No, no... I didn't do anything. I was just following orders, as always! I bet you can rock deployment maps. Every CO has got their own thing, and you know how to work yours! Jake is right, Colin. Set your shoulders straight and stand with pride. Sir, yes, sir! But I'd rather get back to the war! This is...embarrassing. My dude, you were very impressive, too. These soldiers trust you with their lives, don't they? For the most part, yep. I mean, Selena's a special case, we, uh... ...... ...It's complicated. Anyway, I'd rather not sit in debriefing with Rachel, so how about we grab a bite to eat with Max? ...Sure. Colin can handle the debrief. I would like some more information on the previous war. Sweet, let's get out of here, then. Max, you coming? Yeah, let's get going! I can't believe I still got an S for that awful 3-day delay in killing that one lander. God, they're forgiving in the early missions.  Pffthahahahah oh my god I love Colin. He's like Andy, but likeable.  And hey, another mission down. Not bad! I don't feel like we're out of the tutorial zone yet, though. Any other mechanics we've not run into yet..? Hm... I can't think of any.  So, next time, with all of our main mechanics taught to us, we'll do the next mission, Fog Rolls In! Fog Rolls... In. Any mechanics we've not run into... Mechanics... fog... ...NO. NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOO *** Part 8 - The Mercenaries Meet Again cosmicPostman fucked around with this message at 10:36 on Aug 5, 2022 |
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Oct 22, 2021 17:17
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I really want to know what the devs were thinking when giving Colin, a CO's powers that are entirely about cooking the books in deployment missions, a non-deployment to introduce him to the player. The only power of his that matters is "Oh I've had all these properties giving me cash I can't spend this entire time, might as well burn that for extra attack power".
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Oct 22, 2021 17:30
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Okay, I love the idea of "Colin hired mercenaries" as the excuse to have the recurring Blue Moon squad come back. (And also the integration of AW1 Field Training into the plot, that was very funny.) Also, yeah, I don't get what the devs were thinking introducing Colin on predeployed maps either. Why didn't they use this tutorial-esque map as an excuse to introduce Sasha, since she hasn't seen field combat before? For that matter, Sasha's name is a bit puzzling, especially if we're going with "Blue Moon is more or less Russia". Sasha is a familiar/diminutive nickname for Alexander, it's specifically a masculine name in Russian.
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Oct 22, 2021 18:26
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As a side note, B copters absolutely can fire on landers. Yours was just out of missiles and refused to switch to machine guns for whatever reason. Also, cruisers being able to fire on other cruisers/battleships for scratch damage is new in this game. They still absolutely are overpriced garbage though. Remalle fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Oct 22, 2021 |
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Oct 22, 2021 20:01
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I wonder how long it would have taken to instead pick up Boris in the lander and have him capture HQ.
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Oct 22, 2021 20:38
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Remalle posted:As a side note, B copters absolutely can fire on landers. Yours was just out of missiles and refused to switch to machine guns for whatever reason. The machine gun can't. It's like how a cruiser can't shoot it's aa gun at ships when it runs out of torpedoes. It's rather impressive you managed to clean out the ammo of not one, but two different units this map.
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Oct 23, 2021 04:01
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Alkydere posted:I really want to know what the devs were thinking when giving Colin, a CO's powers that are entirely about cooking the books in deployment missions, a non-deployment to introduce him to the player. It is quite odd, but hey, they've done weird things like that before. Like, we've had predeployed Kanbei missions before, but that's more forgivable since, despite not using his mechanic, it's entirely advantageous to the player, rather than a disadvantage like this. Explopyro posted:Okay, I love the idea of "Colin hired mercenaries" as the excuse to have the recurring Blue Moon squad come back. (And also the integration of AW1 Field Training into the plot, that was very funny.) I believe Sasha's also used as a nickname for Alexandra in Russian, but don't quote me on that. Still an odd choice for name, but I suppose "Colin" isn't particularly Russian either. This is what I get for basing Blue Moon's lore on one single man and his very Russian name. (Glad you liked the writing! I couldn't possible leave out the Snowbound Free Company, and I thought this'd be a good map for it. That joke about Olaf and field training has been pre-written since, like, the end of AW2, and I'm finally glad I was able to use it.) Remalle posted:As a side note, B copters absolutely can fire on landers. Yours was just out of missiles and refused to switch to machine guns for whatever reason. Agreed on them being overpriced garbage. If anybody recalls my tier list from somewhere in the AW2 updates, cruisers were the only unit I put in D tier, I believe. Really don't like them. FoolyCharged posted:The machine gun can't. It's like how a cruiser can't shoot it's aa gun at ships when it runs out of torpedoes. I think "I can't fire my guns because I'm out of torpedoes" is my favourite excuse for a soldier not doing their work, I should've leaned into that. And, yeah, I was quite surprised I managed it twice in this map. I don't even feel like it was a very long map. Like I say, I did do it in 5 days on another run, just to check I still know how to play this game. AweStriker posted:I wonder how long it would have taken to instead pick up Boris in the lander and have him capture HQ. I had debated it, but I feel like by the time you clear out the island anyway, it's gonna take a couple of days to get Boris down there and capture the HQ. Probably slightly faster than Selena poking at the lander for five turns, though.
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Oct 23, 2021 13:11
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What on earth happened? Why didn't that sub just finish off Selena? I knew you'd missed it when I saw her fall to 1hp so I thought she was dead for sure!
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Oct 23, 2021 21:05
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Natural 20 posted:What on earth happened? Why didn't that sub just finish off Selena? I still have absolutely no idea. But I'm glad it happened! Also update: running a bit late, this week's part will be out tomorrow instead. My apologies!
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Oct 29, 2021 15:34
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Part 9 (Battle) - gently caress Fog And Everyone Who Likes It No. No no no. I'm not doing it. You can't make me.  ...But I could be tempted with some Jugger dialogue. You win this round, game. Adapt. Take advantage of these conditions and ambush the enemy. Tell me, Jugger, is the placement of the black crystal complete? Crystal placement incomplete. Lash running late.Oho. Another mention of that black crystal. Whatever it is, it sounds pretty potent. Maybe it's the poo poo they made their factory pipes out of in the last game. I see. We must purchase time to make up for her tardiness. Return to the base, Jugger, and see to its defenses. Order understood. Jugger rolling out. Do you require an ACO? Ah, Madam Director. Yes. You will buy us valuable time. ...Yes, Commander. The allied forces are closing in on the heart of Black Hole's army. Is there truly a CO among them capable of achieving our downfall? I wouldn't recommend you underestimate Assistant Commander my dude. You've mentioned that name several times. I still cannot bring myself to be afraid of it. It will be your undoing. Regardless, they must be extinguished before they grow too strong. If this black crystal gambit succeeds, these mere skirmishes will be meaningless. We will sweep across continents and seize control of the entire planet. And yet we need time. We must not lose our cool.Well, that's enormously concerning. Sounds like they have more bullshit superweapons, just like last time.  Let's do it, anyway. Deployments here: Today’s Deployments Felix, Infantry Dimitri, Mech Harlow, APC Jacquelyn, Tank Fenya, Anti-Air Ludmilla, Recon Anatoly, Artillery Anton, Rockets Diana, Battle Copter Felix Age: 20 Personality: Increasingly confident younger brother. Proficiencies: Medium Tank, Infantry, Anti-Air, Cruiser Harlow Age: Unknown Personality: Enigmatic individual, experienced traveller. Proficiencies: [any] Jacquelyn Age: 31 Personality: Zesty but materialistic collector. Proficiencies: Recon, Tank, Lander, Submarine Fenya Age: 22 Personality: Sternly supportive older sister. Proficiencies: Medium Tank, Mech, Battle Copter, Anti-Air Anatoly Age: 25 Personality: Chilled-out, satisfied with life. Proficiencies: Missiles, Rockets, Artillery, Battleship Anton Age: 22 Personality: Has everything he needs. Proficiencies: Infantry, Missiles, Rockets, Battle Copter Diana Age: 32 Personality: Short-tempered but devoted soldier. Proficiencies: Fighter, Battle Copter, Tank, Infantry ...I mean, maybe it's just called "Fog Rolls In" and it doesn't actually contain-  gently caress Analysing data... Done! Sir, it's the Black Hole Army! Yeah, but how am I supposed to see anything through this Fog of War? This looks sketchy--the enemy's got to be out there planning an ambush. Oh, you think? It's a good thing we decided to investigate this coastal route, isn't it? If we hadn't seen Black Hole here, we would've suffered a nasty surprise. No doubt. Rachel and the others are quite a bit ahead of us, too. I gave them a call, but we'd better smoke these guys before they get too big. I see what you're saying. And yet... What's up? It's this fog. To be honest, I don't deal with it particularly well. I loving feel you, Sasha. I hate god drat gently caress of War. No worries, you two. I can rock this myself. No! This is something I must overcome. Please, let me have the command. Sure you're up to it? I don't want you to get owned. Better her than me. I'm not going near that stuff. You can't make me. My dude, you're usually so confident. You've had bad experiences with Fog of War, I take it? Sasha, I need loving therapy. Seven maps in a goddamn row... I... see. Well, I think I can manage if you give me advice, Jake, my dude. That is, unless you don't want to. No, it's cool. I'm down with the whole self-improvement thing. I'll just hang out and give you a hand if you need it. Thanks, Jake. Let's go take care of business, my dude! Hey, I never agreed to help! Oh, god, fine, let's just get this bullshit over with. Jake, hit 'er with the Nell lecture whilst I figure out a strategy. Yo, on it. You can only see stuff that's in a lighted area. It's the same deal for the enemy. Each unit has a search ability that tells you how far it can see. To attack in Fog of War, you've got to figure out where the enemy is first. So I use the recon unit to spot the enemy, then attack with a stronger unit. I see how that works. You need more than superior firepower to win here, right? Yep. You are so all over this. Oh, please... Say, I can't see into that forest above and to the left of the recon unit. Woods are different--you can't see into them unless you're next to them. If you don't spot the enemy and try to head into the wood where it's hiding, you'll get ambushed. I see... But doesn't that mean I can avoid enemy attacks by hiding in woods, too? NO because BLACK HOLE are loving CHEATERS Pretty much. And reefs act just like woods. You can't see into them without rollin' right up next to 'em. OK, I'll proceed with caution. I'll follow your lead, my dude. Good, because I've got a plan. I think. Let's see how it goes... As usual, with Fog of War, there's no strategy other than just testing the waters and seeing how many of our dudes get murdered every time we inch forward. Jake's got some more sage advice before we start, too. I would love to say I'm being sarcastic, but no, this is legitimately good advice from Jake.  They can hoof it up to the top of mountains and scout out long distances. Have your infantry climb to that peak and check out how far it can see.This is probably our best opening move, so hey, let's get Felix over there. "Well, well! Took you all long enough to get here!" Dimitri says loudly as he greets his soldiers for this battle. Felix and Fenya look up, with Felix giving a nervous salute and Fenya instantly saluting to near-perfection. Anatoly and Anton wave in a relaxed fashion, and Diana marches up to Dimitri and nods at him. "I'm sorry, again, for the delay in arriving here. I wanted to come with you, but someone had to knock these soldiers into shape before we came to Omega Land. We're all present and accounted for now, though. Once more, you may think of me as your most devoted soldier - the extension of your will." “Di, come on. It’s just me; you don’t need to be so formal.” Dimitri replies gruffly. “Just have my back in this battle, alright?” “Naturally! I’ll be right behind you the whole time.” Diana says. “Good.” Dimitri says. Then, he faces his mercenary group, now mostly reunited, and gives them a quick salute. “Welcome to the next war, ladies and gents. Glad to have you here with me. We’ll show them what Dimitri’s Mercenaries are capable of when we’re all together!” As the soldiers give a yell of assent and prepare to fight, Dimitri turns to Diana once more. His mouth has barely opened when Diana answers the question he was about to ask. “Zlata’s here too, don’t worry. She couldn’t be deployed in this battle, but she’s waiting back at the barracks.” she says, giving her leader a rare grin. “That’s some motivation to finish the fight, right?” “It sure as hell is. Let’s wipe ‘em out!”  And we discovered some horrible things! Well, one horrible thing and one entirely pointless APC: the surprise artillery, a classic staple of Fog of War maps. Well, it's usually surprise rockets, since they have more range, but I suppose they wanted to play slightly fairer since it's the tutorial and all. So hey, let's get rid of this thing before it becomes a nuisance.  Diana can open fire on it, no problem.  And then we finish it with Ludmilla - this also lets Ludmilla move a few spaces over, so we can see a bit more of what's coming. Thankfully, doesn't look like much yet.  Moving ahead, we still don't see anything of note. Still, I suppose it's not a big map, so we'll be running into Koal's forces sooner rather than later, I'm sure.  Y'know, thinking about it, we've not had any big maps yet. I swear even AW2 had a big map during the Orange Star tutorial, that one with Dipshit and the first Black Cannon. Wonder if AWDS cuts down on the map size generally, or if we've just not hit the big ones yet?  Even without a complete army, I accept their challenge. Class is now in session. I'll crush them if they try to move towards the HQ. You know, I was going to sarcastically point out Black Hole units capturing things as I usually do, but serious question - why the hell did we start with two properties over there anyway?  Some more threatening units show up, but they don't actually attack. Question now is, do I overextend to get rid of that tank, or play defensively?  Pfft. Let's be real, I want to get this map over and done with as soon as possible. First option - overextend like gently caress!  Besides, statistically I'm totally fine attacking this thing with Diana. Tanks and infantry alike do no damage to her, and artillery and rockets can't fire on her. Statistically, Koal's more likely to have one of those than an anti-air, so this feels like the sensible option.  Annoyingly, Diana is basically the only person in range of the tank. At least I was able to weaken it so it can't kill anything of mine now - next task is to cut off Koal's vision by destroying this recon. Anton can help out with that.  Finish it off, Ludmilla. I must admit, recons are nice all-purpose units. I'm fond of them.  Hm... this thing's got a lot of range. Question is, are we still on AW/AW2 rules where enemies can attack what they can't see? I could've sworn someone mentioned that the rules had changed for this game and the enemy played slightly more fair now... hm. In the meantime, Jacquelyn lines herself up next to Diana. "Hey, guys! I didn't get the chance to introduce myself earlier. I'm a new recruit to the army, just transferred from Cosmo Land HQ. Name's Jackie, or Jacquelyn if you want to be fancy. I'm a collector, and I love meeting new people-" "That's great, Jackie. Focus on the battle for now - we'll do all the introductions later, alright?" Dimitri replies, from inside Harlow's APC. At that point, he looks up at the masked figure driving the APC. "Speaking of introductions, you said you were new too, right? Why do I recognise you?" "Name's Harlow." the figure says. "We probably met in the last campaign - of course, I was with Green Earth at the time. I only transferred to the Blue Moon division recently. I wanted to travel, you see." Dimitri nods. "I see. Well, good to have you. If you were in the last campaign, I already know you're a soldier of a certain esteem. So, let's get rollin'." "On it. Straight for the enemy HQ?" "Yup, full speed ahead."  I arrange my soldiers like so - in particular, I want to keep my foot units safe, so Felix dips into the forest next to the peak, whilst Harlow's APC charges ahead. I'm just kind of hoping Koal doesn't attack it.  Now let's see if that gambit pays off...  Wait, poo poo, where's my notebook- This Dick Captures A Property: 4  And now they're trying to capture a second one! We can't have this. A slight side-effect of keeping track of dicks capturing property is that I'm now weirdly motivated to try and keep that number as low as possible. So I can add that onto the list of my self-imposed challenges for these loving games.  But hey, look, the tank didn't attack! And now it's surrounded by about fifteen things that want to kill it (and two ranged units that want to kill it but can't, because it's out of range), so it will not longer be a problem soon.  This is proving to be a pretty nice Fog of War map. I mean, it still sucks, but like, less so than other maps. It's no Show Stopper, that's for drat sure.  Yes, because I'm brilliant. Good to see your confidence has returned now that we're making headway in this map. Cool. Remember to keep an eye out for that Director lady, also. I will. Thank you. I noticed I can also see the areas where I have bases. I suppose this means I should capture as many properties as possible, right? May as well, everyone fuckin' loves capturing properties in this world. Black Hole loves it the most though. Though it would be useful to have some bases around for defensive use. Yes, I do believe I'm starting to get the hang of this. You're good to go already? You've got fierce skills, Sasha. Rachel had to give me a special crash course on this stuff. It took ages. I'm sure that's because Rachel sees how much potential you have, Jake. And I can tell you're a good student. I think you two are a formidable pair. Don't give him false hope. It'll increase his ego and make him as insufferable as Dipshit. Yeah, think so? Rachel and I have both lost everything. Even our families.What the gently caress is he talking about? Rachel literally has a sister. And also me, though I don't think she'd count me as family. I guess smacking down Black Hole is the only thing we've got. Wanting the same thing has pulled us together. Wait, does that mean... Is that why she..? I have no business worrying about my own fears and weaknesses then, do I? You've given me extra incentive to win this fight, Jake! Harlow drops Dimitri off for the time being. I can't really charge ahead until I know exactly what's going on and precisely how many surprise artilleries there are, so they can afford a quick rest here.  And Jackie can finish this tank off, no problem. We're having a surprisingly good time of it on this map so far.  ...Which is probably why I'm feeling confident enough to send Zlata way over here to harass this infantry. That'll stop him from capturing our property.  Seeing those Black Hole infantries doing such good capturing has put Felix in the mood, so he begins capturing this property, too. ...Speaking of infantry units, where the hell did that unit-carrying APC go, anyway? I mean, it's not a threat, but I'd at least like to know its vague location.  Well, it's not over here, anyway. Ludmilla lights up most of the area, and reveals a distinct lack of dudes. They must be nearer to the HQ.  Hopefully we can lure them down with all of our units just kinda sitting here waiting to be shot at.  Oh, gently caress. CO Power. ...This reminds me, I forgot to check out Sasha's CO details. One sec, where's her file gone... I had it just a moment ago...  yeah this guy's doing stuff, whatever  look at how much damage that did, wow  This full-HP infantry decides to attack Diana.  An absolute loving mistake, as you can see. She didn't even take any damage from that. What the hell was the point?  Ah! Here it is. Let's see, Sasha, what do you do?  Mhm. Not bad, bit of extra cash. 100 isn't a huge amount, though, you'd need a lot of properties before you see a notable increase in funds.  ...Yeah, that would have been loving useful last turn. Reducing the enemy CO meter? That's absolutely loving insane. I mean, sure, her SCOP's solid, but gently caress me, especially for my style of play, this is amazing. One of the disadvantages of playing with minimal casualties is the fact that I almost never get a CO Power off, and the enemy gets plenty of them off. So a 2-star CO Power which limits the enemy's CO Powers is literally perfect for me. Might have to use Sasha more often, drat.  Anyway, can't use her CO Power now, so Felix, finish capturing whilst the rest of us continue moving ahead.  Dimitri gets back into Harlow to continue the journey up to HQ. On a Fog of War map, there's almost always another enemy hiding in a hard-to-reach reef or forest, so capturing the HQ is usually the wisest approach.  "Whoa-hey, we've got trouble." Harlow says, glancing up. "Forest's occupied." "poo poo, if it spots us--what's over there?" Dimitri asks, staring out of the APC's front view.  "Uh, another APC." Harlow replies. "Oh, well, ignore me, then." Dimitri says, shrugging. "What a near miss; an APC's no threat to us." "Yeah, I thought it was gonna be that Director lady the Orange Star crew have been talking about." mutters Harlow.  We can make a start on this APC with Jackie, too. She weakens it quite a bit - and it's got someone inside, so best to get rid of it as soon as possible.  Oh, and those infantry need to be removed before they suicide themselves on my units again.  It's more humane this way.  I gather everyone into the Partial My Dude Victory Formation* and prepare for more stuff to come harass us. Koal's got to have more surprises in the fog, right? * it's only a full My Dude Victory Formation if it's five medium tanks in a V shape.  Here we go. At least he can't surprise us with his CO Power any more. Movement-increasing powers are always the least predictable.  Jackie suddenly faces heavy fire from an enemy tank, and they can see the masked woman atop the vehicle, bearing the visage of Sturm. "So that's-" Dimitri gasps. "Orange Star were right. That is definitely Sturm's mask. Who the hell is this woman?" The Director faces Jackie. "You're... not who I'm looking for. Blue Moon soldiers, I take it?" she mutters. Then she sighs, and prepares the barrel of her tank to fire. "Nothing personal; it's just the job. It's not you that I need to find..."  Thankfully, Jacquelyn's mostly fine. She ought to get out of there, though, unless... can I take out the Director with what I've got? She's only in a tank.  gently caress it, divert as many resources from capturing HQ as possible, and capture the Director!  OK, so now that Diana's attacked, we have a good chance of beating her outright, but... No, I'm leaving nothing to chance.  I order Jacquelyn to attack from above, instead. You'll see why - the Director survives the attack on 1HP...  So I needed an extra space open for Fenya to finish her off. God, I'm so good. "Take this! You won't be commanding these forces for much longer!" Fenya shouts as she opens fire. The Director glowers furiously behind her mask, her single visible eye dilating with rage. "I can't- this isn't- I was supposed to be defeated by her. Commander my dude, you really are too intelligent for your own good." As the gunfire rattles through her tank, she realises that the vehicle isn't long for this world and leaps up to exit. "Lander unit! Are you in position?" "Yes, Madam Director." comes the reply over the transceiver. "Good! Prepare for pickup - I'm on my way!" the Director shouts as she sprints into the fog; seconds later, behind her, there's an almighty explosion as her tank is blasted to pieces. Fenya curses and picks up her own transceiver. "We lost her. I'm sorry - she fled into the shoals, and I can't see her in the fog." Thank you for your report, soldier. Hm... The shoals? She must have had an escape route in place. That Director really is tricky... Yeah, she fled the first time we beat her, too. Just what is she up to? I don't feel like her interests are aligned with the rest of Black Hole, and yet I can't figure out what she's after... We can't worry about it now. We must press on and halt this surprise attack. Harlow drops off Dimitri next to the HQ - I decided that those two forests next to the enemy HQ were way too suspicious, so by dropping Dimitri here I could scan for any potential problems. And lo and behold, there was one - a surprise artillery. By placing Dimitri here, he's completely safe from ranged attacks.  And we can even start harassing it with Ludmilla.  Meanwhile, this APC which fled before has unfortunately fled right into rocket range, so... yeah, Anton kinda crushes it and whatever was hanging out inside it.  Felix is just merrily capturing things. He's having fun, so I'll leave him to it. Poor kid doesn't want to get thrown into the midst of the actual battle, let's be real.  A weakened artillery shouldn't do too much damage, though I'm just hoping there's nothing else in the fog now. I feel like Koal's all out of surprises.  And indeed, he does nothing. As expected.  Well, the artillery moved onto the HQ, but that's just delaying the inevitable. Diana, first hit, if you would?  And, thankfully, Jackie can just squeak a kill here, leaving the HQ free for Dimitri to do his thing.  So, hey, let's do that.  And down here too, whilst we're on a capturing roll. Oh, poo poo, I just realised where the Director went. Of course! That's why she attacked alongside the shoals. Where did she go? Hey, Fenya, would you mind advancing north a little bit and telling us what's in that reef over there? "Enemy lander spotted!" Fenya gasps. That must be it! How did you... First rule of Fog of War: if there's a random reef or forest somewhere, there's almost always something hiding in it. We might still be able to capture her, then--we just need to get our ranged units over there. And indeed, we move Anton and Anatoly over there - the brothers should be able to squash this thing.  We've got the HQ covered too. Man, this map really wasn't so bad.  Argh! The loving lander hosed off! We're not going to be able to take it out on the next turn, but we are going to capture the HQ next turn, so...  ...drat it. We'll have to let the Director get away for now. I'm sure we'll see her again.  Yeah, that's where it went. It's in rocket range, but not artillery range, and we'd need both to take it out.  Still! We got the HQ captured, and the first Fog of War of the map on this campaign is done with! Thank god for that. It was practically painless.  Dude, Sasha! You dropped that fool! It's all thanks to your good advice. Sorry, what now? Ah, you were excellent too, my dude! But I expect excellence from you, as most of the COs here seem to. You and Jake... well, you helped me conquer my fear. Nah, it's all you. You should be all, like, "Whassup now, Black Hole?!" Did you really just say that. Hah! I'll be sure to say that next time. That will surprise them.No kidding. Sasha coming out with something that dumb would surprise me, that's for sure. Too bad that enemy CO and ACO peaced out. I wanna know what they were up to. I get the feeling they were here to slow us down and buy some time. The last thing you want to give Black Hole is time, especially with Lash working behind the scenes. They must be up to something. So you think this was a diversion? Part of some totally evil master plan? It's possible. Let's get going and join up with the main army. Rock on--let's go! Oh, and... my dude? I take it you weren't serious about needing therapy for Fog of War... right? It was probably, like, 75% a joke. Why d'you ask? Well, if you do ever want to talk about it, I'm no therapist, but I'd be happy to listen. Oh. Yeah, thanks. That'd... that'd be nice, actually. Another tidy S-rank for our troubles, which is pretty neat. I'm still waiting for the difficulty spike - I know it's coming once we finish the tutorial missions.  ...Sasha is, uh, a woman of few words. And they are potent words indeed.  So, next time we'll be fighting... two COs? What?  And we're moving out, OK, cool. It's another free choice map after this, too! And we have quite a few to choose from, so place your votes for: Rachel, Jake, Max, Sasha or Colin! I am always the ACO. You don't get a choice on that, I'm afraid. See you next time, folks! *** Part 10 (Intermission) - In Solemn Service cosmicPostman fucked around with this message at 12:17 on Nov 26, 2021 |
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Oct 30, 2021 17:30
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