#xcom 2015

[xcommatriarch]

🌈 Victor :3

Places! As a young noodle/thin man Victor often dreamed of different times and places: giant forests, vast meadows, old ruins, beautiful architecture, volcanoes, beaches - the list goes on and on. What do all these dreams have in common? He's alone in all of them.

Not in a bad way, mind you! Unlike his nightmares, he doesn't feel alone in these dreams. Instead, the most prominent emotion he feels is curiosity and excitement, anticipation, even. He can go wherever he wants, explore to his heart's content and, well, generally be free! For someone who spent most of his childhood in an incubator, then - in a pod and then on the battlefield (later - in xcom cage) having so much freedom was, perhaps, the most comforting thing about having these dreams.

[kiwi1281]

i opened xcom eu for the first time in a while and there were save files from 2015......

that can't be right that wasn't 10 years ago right??

[companionwolf]

iirc the only real time we hear Central even begin to swear in 2015 is during base defense and he doesn't even finish the word, which tracks because 2015!Central is a fucking bushy tailed bright eyed boy scout. contrasted to 2035!Central, who now cynical jaded and generally a wreck of a man (wiki literally says this lol), does occasionally drop a 'hell' and 'goddamn' and even 'bastard' (the last one isn't entirely a swear but like. Roll with me here okay?)

anyway my point is by xcom 2, I think Central should be allowed to say fuck

[greenzaku]

XCOM and XCOM2 are set in 2015 and 2035 respectively. Yeah, if we had to choose between uniting against an alien invasion and continuing to mass murder each other, we're fucked.

[thatneilj]

Game of the Year 2020

Originally posted in January 2021

While 2020 has been a true nightmare for everyone, there were luckily were a few good things in it. First off, I’m back on the west coast. Second, I’ve been able to spend a lot more time streaming and playing TTRPGs. And third, there were some pretty cool games out this year despite all the delays! While a lot of things kept me from engaging with some of the biggest games this year, these 5 stood out as the best I played.

Honorables

Phantasy Star Online 2

I know PSO2 is a game originally released in 2012, but this year it FINALLY came state-side. Does it live up to the originals? No, not at all. How could it live up to one of my top 3 games of all time? Fact is, the move towards more MMO trapping in conjunction with the monetization model gets in the way of an otherwise super fun experience.

Shovel Knight: King of Cards

King of Cards is a really awesome game, but some of the other Shovel Knight games are just better. Really this is getting up here for the entire Treasure Trove package, which is possibly one of the best packages of the whole decade. The only thing in it that isn’t fantastic is the weird fighting game thing they tossed in there. But seriously, all the Shovel Knight games are really good.

XCOM: Chimera Squad

XCOM: Chimera Squad didn’t make the cut due to living in the shadow of its predecessor. While it made fun and interesting changes in the moment-to-moment combat encounters, particularly with the turn-order system, it also took away a key piece of what made the older game so engaging. Chimera Squad replaces the soldiers and emergent stories with specific characters that had too much development to fill in the blanks and not enough to make any satisfying arcs. Not to mention the basic plot of being a group of super cops using violence as the means of enforcement. Unfortunate timing aside, I can’t wait to see the tactical mechanics pushed forward into another full XCOM experience.

5. Ghostrunner

First-person platforming is extremely hard to get right. Until now, the Mirror’s Edge games might be the only ones that really nailed it, allowing the movement and conservation of momentum to flow into each other without getting bogged down in the precision type of difficulty 2D games excel at. Ghostrunner follows in these footsteps while using some combat mechanics to carve out its own identity. What they manage to create is an extremely fast-paced platforming game full of movement puzzle rooms, where many of the solutions are as freeform as the parkour inspirations. Then they slapped a cool as hell cyberpunk aesthetic on it!

4. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Ori and the Blind Forest floored me in 2015 by marrying carefully-crafted 2D platforming and surprisingly emotional themes into a beautiful pathfinding (often called “metroidvania”) game. Now, 5 years later, the sequel builds on that by including an expanded combat system, NPCs with side-quests, and even more breathtaking visuals. The new boss fights are awesome, and some of the new powers grant exciting new ways to traverse. Almost everything in this game is a strict improvement.

Yet the storytelling this time around tries too hard to strike the same beats of the original and leaves off with a message that is much less impactful. At times the number of effects on the screen become overwhelming in ways the original never did. And one of the coolest things from the first game, the ability to create your own checkpoints, is completely gone and replaced with a standard automatic system. While it doesn’t quite live up to the magic of the original, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is still a fantastic experience that I highly recommend.

3. Visage

The first thing I am going to say about Visage is that I never want to play it ever again. Not because it is bad though. In fact, it is extremely good at what it sets out to do; scare the shit out of you. The reason this game is on my top 5 despite how much I don’t like playing horror games is that it does so much more than just set you off to explore in a creepy place. With puzzles and small details, it tells stories of this house and those that lived in it before you. And it tells stories about your character too, weaving together threads in a way that reminds me of what made games like Silent Hill 2 stand out so long ago.

While the game does have one chapter that feels particularly different from the rest of the game, each chapter manages to create a vibe that just reaches down into the pit of your stomach to make you scream. If you are even the slightest bit interested in horror games, this one is a real gem among them.

2. Risk of Rain 2

If you were to tell me that the little 2D action rogue-like from 2013 known as Risk of Rain would not just work but be incredible when translated into the 3D space, I would not have believed you. As your time-played each run increases so too does the difficulty through number of enemies, enemy types, and modifiers, while you build up your character into some broken monstrosity. This leads to some of the most exciting and tense experiences I had all year. Couple that with secrets to discover on each level, every character with drastically different approaches to combat, and tons of small challenges to complete, unlocking variant moves and more! Not to mention how the climax interacts with how you got there in such a cool and terrifying way.

Then you get to take all this and do it with up to 3 of your friends, adding to the chaos. I absolutely loved the time I spent with this game, and I continue to listen to the music from it. Seriously, this game has an incredible set of post-rock songs by Chris Christodoulou. Just do yourself a favor and go listen to The Rain Formerly Known as Purple, it is so good.

1. Hades

Supergiant Games have an extremely good track record through this decade, but they really hit it out of the park with Hades this year. They built an incredibly solid isometric action game at the base, with 6 weapon sets that are all fun to use, and then built a run-based upgrade system on top of it. Does it have the wild variance and broken combos of games like The Binding of Isaac? No, but it still has enough there to keep every run feeling unique and exciting, while giving players all the tools they need for steady improvement, as well as increased difficulty to really fine tune their experiences.

The thing that truly makes Hades stand out from the rest is how it engages with narrative, world building, and character development inside of this rogue-like framework. Every death is another chance to talk to Achilles and the other residents of the house, help Dusa clean up, and pet big cute Cerberus. Every run a chance to hear a song from Eurydice, have a chat with Sisyphus, or even escape the realm of the underworld. The way these characters have been fleshed out makes failed attempts rewarding in the same way that successful ones are and really keeps the drive alive, instead of leading to frustration. And the ways they use this narrative in game, each successful run driving towards that emotional climax, is masterful.

Treat yourself, and go pick game up.

[gamerbulten]

2K oyunları Steam indirimlerinde ...

[zoewilkinson]

Development Project 1 – Week 6

An Update and Changes Coming

05/01/2024

Well, I sadly needed to take a longer break than anticipated and a lot has changed to my project plans since. Over Christmas break I was very unwell and was completely unable to move, and therefore work on my projects. This put a huge dent in my planned schedule and has made working on all my projects, as well as other modules, rather tricky. Nevertheless, I’m now back and have some updates on my projects.

When I last updated my work, I had left the model right before using the dynamesh tool to begin sculpting in high poly. After using the dynamesh tool, it removed the majority of my details and I had to go through the process of adding them back in, with the additional challenge now of a higher poly count and therefore sharper details.

Dynameshed model.

At this point I felt okay about how I had remade the details, but definitely not as confident as I wanted. I decided to continue on with the tutorials, while feeling a bit uneasy about my current plans for finishing this piece. After the second dynamesh, I made the decision to change my original idea.

Further details/problems.

Because of my new time management schedule, I was no longer confident that I would be able to produce this piece up to the standards I wanted it to be. I was struggling to use ZBrush and keep up with the tutorial, and started to come across a lot of issues when making the eyes that I wasn’t able to fix after about five solid hours of working back into it. My main concern was the fact that I knew I wouldn’t be able to make the eyes as strong as I needed them to be, because the eyes are what completely make or break a model.

So, I went back to my original mood board for my places of the mind weekly task to take further inspiration that I felt more confident with. Maybe this was a controversial choice to make, and potentially even not the smartest, but I decided to put this piece on hold and work on developing these skills in my personal time. I wanted to keep to creating a humanoid form so I wasn’t straying too far from my idea, but also switch it to a topic that will always interest me: horror characters.

Art by Piero Macgowan (Macgowan, 2015)

I was really drawn to this design in my original task, but wanted to try and make a human face because it was something I was less comfortable making. I think by switching to this design, while a bit last minute, I’ll be able to make a much more successful piece overall and learn a wider range of tools and techniques. I felt stuck with the bust piece and was becoming very aware of the fact that I probably wouldn’t make it past the modelling and sculpting stage if I continued with it, when I wanted to continue experimenting with different ways to use Substance Painter and UV unwrapping. I’m excited to see how this project progresses going ahead.

Initial block out of the new alien bust.

I worked on developing the base block out of this project and already feel much more confident in this piece and how it will progress. Since this model is mostly being sculpted instead of modelled, I'm trying to keep the subdivisons at a decent middle ground around 100,000 polys so it's high enough to get the sharp details I need, but low enough that it won't affect my PC speed.

Bibliography

Macgowan, P., 2015. Sectoid Concept - XCOM 2. [Online] Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4an6Y [Accessed 11 October 2023].

[rafawriter]

Going Live!

Going back to 2015 to fight the alien menace: Streaming XCOM: Enemy Within. Today at 1 p.m. Eastern only on  https://www.twitch.tv/lessonslearned1

[purple-nautilus]

About why my commander is super aggressive towards Bradford in 2015, my theory is that when he first bonded with Asaru, his mind was also merged with Asaru, plus some of Asaru's previous hosts' thoughts, for a long while the commander was lost within "his" own mind, confused about who he really is and who he used to be, why a part of him likes Bradford (maybe a little too much) and why a part of him hated Bradford. But in the end, xcom comes first so he pushed all this aside, he accepted his fate as a vessel so all consequences are acceptable.

Poor Bradford tho

[xcommatriarch]

Oh, while we are at it - did you know Anton took pole dancing classes in his youth? Now you know.

He still rocks the skills, by the way. Ask whoever goes on missions with him - smug bastard just can't use fast rope like a normal person, he has to show off every damn time

[hydralisk98]

Servitor (ideas dump)

[.]

[..]

Characters

From Olive to Klara

Constans

Maya

Anya

Sasha

Iwa

Nil

Symbol

Places

Video rental store

Cyber cafe

Cafe

Mall

Witch home

D&D basement

Library

Bookstore

Time periods

Intrigues

RL storytime inspirations:

YMCA Summer Student Exchange 2015 aka Kelowna and Kamloops

Jean-Baptiste-Meilleur

College Maisonneuve

2020

CFP des Riverains

Mashups of genres

Mystery + alternate history

Western adventure + roguelike simulation

Fantastical/fantasy adventure + low magick setting

Exploration + nostalgia + time travel

What if-s

You unraveled a old portal fantasy dungeon

You discovered Aperture Science facilities underground

You had retrocognition (and later chronokinesis)

You could influence reality with audio over your subconscious (p.s: true story ahead)

Wilsonism never took hold of USA politics (and lots more intricate details so to make a full TL out of it)

Nazis won the Second World War but does withhold only for a generation (up to ~1963 before collapsing entirely)

Several Earth ppl migrated towards alternate timelines/worlds

A far far future society meet modern Earth

Resistance Fall of Man but instead of the Chimera it is a far far future set of civilizationa that invades Earth

different realities had to brand and sell themselves online to attract themselves some smart people?

Catholic christianity split off significantly further once again?

Venus was being successfully terraformed and colonized by humanity ever since the 1970s as Earth simply ecologically collapses

Pflaummen was founded in 1910 and revolutionized technology forever ever since (IBM time + DEC innovation)

Apocalypse but it is both fast and no fantasy

Alternative path for FPS derivated from BUILD

Alternative development of rogue servitor machines except they actually balance out their benevolence with versatility

Alternative medecine and knowledge keeping development ever since the late 15th century (think index card libraries, DIY slide box toys, gender/shape transformation spells, human computers and sapient constructs)

Arian christianity survives well into the 21st century alongside Hussite faith, coptics and several more early dialects of Abrahamic religions

Scenes to reverse-engineer

Orators' discourse

Some walk in a park

Parsing some code text in a office

Syndicalist riot

Fanfiction derivations

Half-Life 3, but the Combine is utterly defeated (from both outside and from within, so it goes out of relevancy by then)

Portal 2 sequel aka GLaDOS has new and old unexpected comrades to test by and to work alongside

Quake 1 but it's a toybox world to explore and interact with

Hypnospace Outlaw but it's a entirely different world that is portrayed here

SEGA Sonic Racing + SEGA Micro Machines but it's a custom fork of mine

BUILD1+1.5+2 engine game (Duke Nukem + Ion Fury) but it's a entirely different narrative

Bioshock (originals, Infinite, Burial at Sea) + System Shock 2 but the narrative is way more wholesome than the expected dark tone

Zelda 1 but it has a entirely different theme and levels of non-player agents factionalism (think a bit like Mercenaries Playground of Destruction but 2D)

Alien the 8th passenger, but instead of the Alien it is simply a Greater German political and military regulation unit shutting down a underground dungeon a bit like in XCOM Ennemy Unknown as the Nazi victory world simply is collapsing around them

Terminator ~1+3+5, but all the machine killers are all reprogrammed to kill Woodrow Wilson just before the election starts in 1912 by a autistic Zerg overmind

Multimedia assets

Animals

Humans

Constructs

Demons

Angels

Buildings

Vehicles

Generic symbols

Specific use symbols

Programming symbols

Latin letters

Arabic numerals

Terrain

Cyrillic letters

Greek letters

Furniture

Stationery

Books

Pawns

Furries

Electric props

Military units

Overhead worldmap symbols

Mechnical props

Decoration material

Blocks and curved things

Retro computing stuff

Computing stuff

Sci-Fi stuff

Fantasy stuff

Clothes

Accessories

Pseudo-graphics

[the-cooler-snimbusjavy]

XCOM: Chimera Squad Character Trivia Masterpost

So with XCOM: Chimera Squad having been out for a bit of time now, I’ve come to love and appreciate every single member of the squad we got, so I went ahead and decided to take a look at everything possible we have on the gang. Between character bios, in-game dialogue and conversations, lines pulled from the config files, concept art, all coupled with my personal interpretation on the information given, I have tried to give a go at making a post with every detail of each character I found worth mentioning (in absolutely no particular order). So, enjoy! Also fair warning, it’s long, ayy

SPOILERS AHEAD While not too important in the great scheme of things in Chimera Squad’s story, do read at your own risk.

.

Terminal - China, 29 years old

Terminal lost her parents during the invasion of 2015. They were a factory worker and a cook. Afterwards, she escaped with her uncle to a relocation camp, who unfortunately died of disease the following year.

After this event, she was adopted by a doctor who lost her only daughter. It was her who inspired Terminal to become a combat medic. In a cruel turn of events, she was killed during a retaliation attack from ADVENT. It is said Terminal’s personality severely shifted after this.

Terminal keeps a photo of her deceased adopted mother in her locker.

She was originally rejected to join the Reclamation Agency, so she requested the use of psionic probes to prove her worth. She was then admitted in probationary period.

Terminal believes Verge is the only one in the team who truly understands her. Verge “knows” this.

Terminal wants to have a fight between hers and Patchwork’s GREMLINs, for “training purposes”.

Terminal nicknames Patchwork “Patches” on occasion.

Whenever Patchwork “smack talks” Terminal down, she expresses she’s “so proud” of her.

Terminal often eats Whisper’s lunches in the fridge, under the excuse that he doesn’t label them.

Terminal seems to know the Jabberwock, and perhaps other stories surrounding it, as she wished to hear Zephyr pronounce said word, likely out of Terminal’s mocking of her Australian accent.

Terminal claims to be the “biggest fan” of conspiracy theorist Floyd Tesseract’s radio show, You Should Have Believed, and is absolutely delighted to meet him. This is much unlike every other member of the team, who all seem to either disregard him, dislike him, or outright suggest he be captured.

According to Terminal, the restorative mist within her GREMLIN is “minty fresh”. It seems Cherub once sniffed it on accident.

Terminal seems to consider Verge’s singing to be “the second worst thing she’s heard all year”.

Whisper accuses Terminal of sleeping during their briefings. According to Terminal, she’s just “resting her eyes”, as well as her “ears” and “interest”.

According to Godmother, Terminal tenses up whenever she pulls the trigger of her gun. Terminal attempts to deny this, unsuccessfully.

According to herself, Terminal has always wanted a “heavily-armored entourage”.

Terminal doesn’t know what a vertipad is, and upon learning of it, she questions who calls them that way, thinking it “stupid”. Seemingly, everyone else on the squad calls them by their name without issue.

According to Terminal, she’s never gonna retire, she expects to just die some day in the field (five years at most). Afterwards she confesses that she’s no good anywhere else, suggesting that she has an issue in finding direction with her life. Godmother claims that she knows well what she means.

Verge - ~40 years old

Verge originally worked alongside Thin Men in order to infiltrate society and psionically control them to share good word of the Elders’ occupation of Earth. It was due to his constant exposure to human thoughts that gained him empathy.

He worked as a mole during the events of XCOM 2 and provided the Resistance with information, making him the only* known alien to aid XCOM during their war against ADVENT. (*Ethereal Asaru is theorized to have aided XCOM by merging with the Commander, and sometimes even implied, but it still remains devoid of official word about it)

Sectoids can mind-merge with someone in order to “taste” whatever they may be eating. He suggests doing this with Cherub by offering to go to a new restaurant that serves “authentic old world cuisine”, but only with Cherub’s own consent.

Sectoids, and Verge as an extension, seemingly cannot eat terrestrial meat and eggs, or “greasy” food as worded by Cherub.

On that note, it would seem Sectoids are also intolerant to jam, as it’s considered poison for them. It’s possible Godmother was aware of this fact, as she instead replaces “jam“ with “butter“ during a phrase pre-mission.

Verge recognizes his acts during the original invasion were wrong, and there having been worse alternatives don’t excuse his actions still, according to him.

That said, he doesn’t seem to want to talk about his part in it, when asked by Godmother if he regret any of it.

Verge finds butter delicious, though he also believes the consumption of “the churned remains of another lactating mammal” to be slightly disturbing.

Terminal seems to be “creeped out” by Verge’s Battle Madness ability. Blueblood similarly finds it unsettling, yet still appreciates the “breathing room”. Surprisingly, Torque seems to outright love it, and even requests Verge to have the enemy “dance”.

Cats apparently find Sectoids to be adversaries for undisclosed reasons as declared by Verge, yet according to Axiom, he’s seen “a lot of Sectoids with cats”.

Verge keeps a ramen shop sticker, as well as an excerpt of a ramen cooking magazine in his locker, suggesting either or both an interest in cooking and enthusiasm towards this particular dish.

It seems Verge was acquainted with conspiracy theorist Floyd Tesseract during the invasion, claiming that he was “just as insufferable“ throughout it as he is now.

Verge enjoys “messing” with Whisper whenever he makes a comm check, by instead listening to him psionically. Whisper at least appreciates the honesty.

Verge seems to respect and care greatly for the Archons, as he states they will never be slaves again, and that the Progeny will do them no harm. He becomes particularly angry when threatened by the terrorist faction.

Verge claims that he enjoys collecting old watches.

Godmother - France, 48 years old

Godmother lost track of her family during the 2015 invasion. She spent a year looking for them, with no result.

Godmother does not consider herself a leader, but rather a teacher. This is the case in her old job as a police trainer, as a member of the Resistance, and now as provisional member of Chimera Squad.

Godmother plans to retire soon, but has decided to stick around Chimera Squad to aid them until she feels they are truly ready.

Terminal seems to be an example of the above, with Godmother constantly guiding the former.

Godmother witnessed Cherub’s adoption papers under request of Headquarters. She also signed them in addition.

Godmother believes Cherub has a talent to “bring people together”.

Godmother seems to consider the Sacred Coil faction as “re-heated ADVENT propaganda”.

Godmother seems to be good with card games as she claims her hobby to be “bluffing” with them, after being asked by Cherub if she had any.

According to Verge, Godmother still does not trust aliens. However, she’s actively trying to do so, which Verge claims is enough.

On the same note, Godmother is said to not trust the world leaders after surrendering so quickly, suggesting over the years she’s lived with trusting issues around her.

According to Godmother, she was once pinned down in a bank of Paris for three days.

Godmother seems to enjoy crêpes, as she orders Terminal to “stop making her hungry” after the latter desired donuts and crêpes respectively during a mission.

Godmother seems to be proud of her French heritage, as she keeps a touristic poster of the Arc de Triomphe in her locker.

Alongside this, a photo of presumably Godmother herself and a long-haired blonde woman both in police uniform is present. Who this woman is is not disclosed.

Cherub - Estonia, 5 years old

Cherub belonged to a batch of ADVENT clones under the name of the Empty Cohort, who never got to receive the respective indoctrination.

After being discovered there, Cherub was only recently adopted by the two resistance members who originally found him in his ADVENT facility of origin, as they found themselves responsible for him and his safety. They fell in love precisely due to this, having married one year prior to the events of XCOM: Chimera Squad.

On the same topic, Cherub keeps a picture of himself and his parents in his locker.

Alongside the aforementioned picture, Cherub keeps a card celebrating his fifth birthday. It presumably comes from his parents, seeing he put it alongside their picture.

Cherub was originally a clone of Bellus Mar, former ADVENT Officer and leader of the Sacred Coil terrorist faction. Cherub seems to be concerned of his teammates believing something of Mar could potentially be present in himself, which Director Kelly assures is not the case.

Cherub believes that friendship cannot be forced on others, and is content with simply letting others know that they are not alone.

Despite this, his naturally innocent and naive attitude allows Zephyr to use him as a “practice dummy”.

Cherub used to pronounce DJ as “deej” before he actually heard it aloud.

Cherub believes that it would be normal that everyone voiced whatever was exactly in their mind, without having the need to hide anything. Verge reveals to him that rarely do people do so, and that they choose to hide many things for a number of reasons. Cherub believes it to be too much work to think about, so he’d rather say things as he actually means to say.

Cherub believes sunrise, waffles, laughter, and wood smoke to be important things of life.

Cherub doesn’t understand the protection of money. He believes it’s not as rewarding as protecting people.

According to himself, Cherub is “so bad” at riddles.

Cherub enjoys watching wrestling from the old world whenever he gets the chance to find it. Whisper offers to search some for him, however, still forbids him to actually compete in it.

Cherub enjoys making puns and, apparently, he was taught of them by Whisper, who seemingly now regrets his decision.

Patchwork - Mexico, 29 years old

Patchwork lost her legs and left arm during the invasion of 2015. ADVENT provided her with new ones as part of their propaganda plan.

It was Patchwork herself who orchestrated her escape from the ADVENT City Centers, in order to join the Resistance.

Patchwork doesn’t name her GREMLINs anymore, presumably as they usually tend to be destroyed, as per Cherub’s inquiry. She counts at least 25 destroyed GREMLINs, one in particular destroyed by a Muton

Everyone apparently hates the androids they use on reinforcements for undisclosed reasons. Patchwork is the exception, as she considers them “robot friends” who fill in when they cannot.

On that note, it seems Patchwork is very protective of any sort of Android, and even refers to those stolen by Sacred Coil as her “niños” (Spanish for children).

Contrary to common belief within the squad, Patchwork did not choose her callsign due to her own state. In Terminal’s words, it was due to her affinity at “slapping software together”, and that everyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot.

Patchwork sometimes wonders if she and Terminal should switch callsigns, under the reasoning that she “works with computer terminals”, while Terminal “patches people back up”.

On the same note, Patchwork claims Terminal’s mouth moves at “terminal velocity”. The latter finds this very amusing.

Patchwork seems to refer to psionics as some sort of “music”. Stating she enjoys the “tune” of Shelter’s psi abilities, as well as claiming that Progeny’s leader Violet’s own sounds like a “symphony”. Similarly, when failed to be mind-controlled she states she doesn’t enjoy that kind of “music”.

Patchwork believes the ADVENT Gene Therapy clinics should not have been outlawed, as she considers ADVENT themselves to be the ones to blame for what they did to humanity, not the “tool” itself.

Patchwork is seemingly not allowed to enter tech vaults anymore. According to her, it was due to her mistakenly pushing a particular button that started some form of countdown. Seemingly, Director Kelly was “nearly irradiated” due to this mishap.

According to herself, Patchwork doesn’t like to go dancing, though it’s most likely due to the fact she distrusts the people running clubs.

Patchwork seems to be close to both Lily Shen and Richard Tygan, as she keeps a photo of herself alongside them both in her locker (John Bradford and the Commander can be seen in the background, with the latter strategically concealed).

Having worked as an engineer in the Avenger during XCOM 2, coupled with their personal love of robotics, her bond with Shen is easily explained.

As for Tygan, it is presumed by many he was the man in charge of providing a young Patchwork with her first prosthetic arm and legs back during his ADVENT days, explaining their bond now both together as members of XCOM.

Axiom - Born within an invasion ship, 46 years old

Mutons are apparently issued pet cats to demonstrate their capacity for compassion. Axiom did not get one as he proved himself while saving human lives during the Bugtown Massacre under his own initiative.

Despite this fact, Axiom still seems to be greatly fond of cats, as he owns a sticker of one surrounded by hearts in his locker.

According to Axiom, Mutons had a “spiritual connection” with their starships, returning to it signified some form of “pilgrimage”. Axiom’s ship, however, was destroyed back in 2015.

On this topic and true Muton nature, Axiom is fond of the space as well. He keeps a poster of Earth’s solar system in his locker.

Axiom considers Blueblood’s choice of weaponry to be inferior and small. However, after Blueblood explains his strategy of it being so unnoticeable that enemies focus on Axiom instead so then the former can pick up on those distracted, Axiom praises his cunning and respects the strategy.

Axiom believes Claymore fights like a woman, in that he’s fearless, calm under pressure, and is an inspiration to squadmates to give their all. After claiming he learned much from his sister, Axiom praises her as formidable and wishes to meet her, despite her views on the current world.

Axiom is surprised Godmother managed to fight and survive during the invasion of Paris, in her homeland in France. According to Axiom, the mortality rate was extremely high. They soon decide not to continue the conversation.

Apparently, Axiom wishes new boots, as his current footwear seemingly “pinch his ankles”.

Both Axiom and Torque seem to agree that Andromedons are “the worst”.

According to Axiom, Gray Phoenix leaders Custodian Xel and Crew Chief Yarvo’s names are aliases, and starship dialect. Xel meaning “good route” or “safe passage”, whereas Yarvo means “newly forged” or “birthed in flame”.

Claymore - India, 32 years old

Claymore has an older sister that he apparently worked with alongside the Resistance. According to Claymore, she’s the one that taught him many of the things he knows. However, she also seemingly has not come to terms with the current state of the world, presumably the peace between humans and aliens.

Other than her, Claymore also seemed to have an older brother. He, alongside their mother, however, lost their lives during the 2015 invasion.

Claymore worked on the Avenger during the events of XCOM 2, disassembling recovered alien explosives.

Claymore appears to be religious, as he claims that prayer brings him peace of mind. As to what religion he follows, is not disclosed.

When asked by Verge how he attains the aforementioned peace of mind, Claymore also adds that he does exercise and that he allows himself to love the world and the people around him.

On that same note, Claymore states that he “never touches” caffeine.

Claymore seems to enjoy food overall, and also appears to be a good cook, as he brings enough fish curry he made for everyone upon his arrival.

He and Verge enjoy visiting ramen shops together, cataloguing the good and bad places. They plan to go to the recently opened shop U.F.Oodle.

Claymore and Torque seem to have a thing against each other, referring to the other as a “rebel goon” and a “despotic flunkie”, respectively. Whisper facetiously refers to their aversion as “young love”.

Torque - Siberia, 20 years old

Torque was offered to act as “opposing force“ in training of XCOM agents post-war. She accepted as she considered prison to be “boring“.

During these events, Torque formed a bond with then-Colonel Jane Kelly, who seems to be the only person Torque truly respects and appreciates. It was thanks to her Torque was admitted into the Reclamation Agency and Chimera Squad.

Torque is afraid of losing her friends, so she tries hard to push them away with her unwelcoming attitude. This is due to her fear of forming bonds, since they may not come back from a fight the next day. She is incredibly self-aware of this fact. Director Kelly offers to talk with her about it, which Torque accepts.

On that same note, Godmother claims that Torque does in fact care about getting her team’s respect and appreciation, a topic Torque evidently wishes to avoid.

Despite these facts, Torque seems to be keen on improving as a person, as her locker shows she owns a book under the name of Meditation for the Exceptionally Stressed.

Torque sees herself as an earthling, as she was born on Siberia in 2020.

Torque seems to have something against off-worlders, but it’s unknown if this is due to her attitude, guilt about her own actions during the war that she projects against others, or legitimate aversion against them.

Terminal seems to be absolutely thrilled whenever Torque uses her Tongue Pull with the former, with her exclaiming she wants to “go again”.

Torque seems to have a heavy disliking of Whisper for undisclosed reasons, under occasions having suggested him to perform a lobotomy, as well as telling him to “bite his tongue off and bleed to death” after he asks the team to bring him a “souvenir” from a Viper-themed mature bar.

After Whisper reveals himself to be Canadian, Torque claims Canadians taste like maple. Whether it’s her joking with Whisper or not is not confirmed.

Torque believes Codexes to be “insufferable show-offs”. On that note, she’s always believed they judged her with their “creepy glowing eyes”.

Torque seems to enjoy drawing, as she keeps a bunch of sketches in her locker, most notably of terrestrial creatures like dogs and frogs. But most importantly, she has one of Axiom in civilian clothing eating noodles, scribbled in it reads “I’m never eating anything else ever again” in Axiom’s perspective. Axiom himself keeps this sketch on his own locker, demonstrating he values it.

Also present on her locker seems to be a touristic poster of the northern lights, presumably Siberian, suggesting she’s fond of her birthplace.

Blueblood - United States, 34 years old

Blueblood managed to live a peaceful life with his family under City 31 during the ADVENT regime. Despite this, he helped others where he could, even members of the Resistance.

Blueblood seems to love and respect his father dearly, as he decided to continue the family tradition of being policemen. The former also keeps a picture of them both after a fishing trip.

On the same note, Blueblood seems to be a fishing enthusiast, as he keeps a poster of the various fishes near City 31.

Blueblood personally knows City 31’s Police Department’s Commissioner Maloof, and even seems to be on friendly terms with her, calling her by her first name, Halia.

Blueblood is seemingly concerned that Terminal seems to be far too eager to put herself into danger. According to her, it’s just that she understands the concept of ”acceptable risk”. Blueblood fears it’s a “death wish“.

Blueblood states that he would not shoot any of his teammates, not even with training purposes, after being asked by Cherub. He instead suggests him to use the ballistic mannequins they already possess.

Blueblood states that Godmother reminds him of his mother, in that she lead his whole family without ever taking charge herself, always pushing them enough to reach their potential. Godmother claims that Blueblood has exceeded his.

Blueblood’s mother passed away back in 2014 due to cancer, and the former claims that “this time of year” always hits him due to it (presumably somewhere between March and May). That said, he’s glad she never got to live to witness the invasion.

On this note, Shelter feels the need to comfort him after noticing something was wrong. Blueblood appreciates this.

Blueblood states that his father used to love heist movies, and the two of them watched them together.

According to Blueblood, ADVENT’s soldiers helmets are “stupid”.

Shelter - Chile, 36 years old

Shelter lived in a big family, but got separated from them during the 2015 invasion.

He was found and experimented on by ADVENT after discovering he had latent psionic potential, forcing him to kill and torture “criminals“ with his abilities. This affected him to the point of crying. He managed to escape from them afterwards.

Shelter is a proud farmer. He was taken in by the Resistance thanks to these skills, and in his locker he keeps a picture of a younger self standing in front of plentiful crops, as well as posters promoting new “delicious and nutritious” breeds of vegetables.

Shelter seems to enjoy chilli, as he was joyed to have some upon his arrival.

Shelter doesn’t like to read other’s minds, as evidenced by Cherub playfully asking him to read his, with Shelter claiming that he “would never” do so.

Shelter knew to some capacity of the Progeny’s leader, Violet. Upon his escape, he psionically contacted her during the event, but then lost connection. Presumably, she was yet to lose her mind due to ADVENT’s experimentations on her. He refers to this connection of emotions as a sort of “poem”.

Shelter is very fond of his squadmates, complimenting them whenever the chance is available, as well as exclaiming against enemies that he won’t allow them to hurt his friends.

Claymore seems to hate it whenever Shelter switches their positions with Relocate, as it makes him feel “queasy”. Blueblood similarly thinks it’s “freaky”. Cherub, on the other hand, consider it to be “so fun”.

According to himself, Shelter doesn’t like banks.

Shelter doesn’t understand why their enemies, in particular members of the Gray Phoenix faction, would be willing to die for their causes.

According to himself, Shelter’s teeth itch, or otherwise rattle, whenever there’s high spikes of power or energy. It’s unknown if this is normal in other human psions.

It would appear that Shelter has a crush on Zephyr, as the latter noticed his face turned red whenever she was around (which she mistook for anger). After discovering this, Zephyr does not seem to be visibly upset, but perhaps surprised, to which Shelter reacts with embarrassment.

Zephyr - Australia, 33 years old

Zephyr is not a clone unlike many former ADVENT soldiers. She presumably was amongst the first humans to be turned into hybrids and then brainwashed to follow the ADVENT regime, presumably similar to Sacred Coil leader Bellus Mar, off whom Cherub was cloned from. It is not known, however, if Zephyr was cloned at any point.

After being liberated the the Skirmishers faction, she joined their ranks and operated near City 31.

Zephyr seemingly does not want hammocks in HQ as per Patchwork’s desire to improve the place. Apparently, there was a mishap regarding this in the past.

According to herself, it seems Zephyr has “always wished” to go bowling.

At least visibly, Zephyr seems to not be too fond of Cherub, as she’s seen referring to him as “knock-off” on occasion.

According to Zephyr, “punch-a-bastard-in-the-face” day is a “roving holiday”, which she enjoys to celebrate.

Zephyr seems to refer to Patchwork as a “nerd”, as she stood by her words whenever the latter was offended by Zephyr’s accusation towards computer-savvy Gray Phoenix members.

Zephyr believes that she has no place in the Skirmishers (or anywhere)  anymore as it began accepting more clones, and due to the fact of her not knowing of her own past as a human. Claymore expresses his profound disagreement, and even though Zephyr states it’s not as simple, she appreciates the words.

[companionwolf]

Fill #1 for Flufftober

Prompt: 25. Nook + 29. "Hey, wake up!"

Fandom: XCOM 2

Verse: uh based on my canon? (I'm kin); NOT shipfic

TWs/CWs: None

The Commander drifts.

They know vaguely they lie in the space under the bar where it turns, curled up with their tail over their nose in the little nook.

Central tends the soldiers, thinks his CO can't see him go to nip a drink straight from the vodka bottle, flinches when they growl softly and sets it back down.

They're here on the Avenger in 2035, a few months post freedom. At least, here enough. With their eyes shut and neurons slow, the Commander could be anywhere else. Could convince themselves of it.

They could be back at HQ, taking shelter under the Hologlobe, listening to the idle chatter and noise of the personnel around the room.

They could be on the run, the fire behind their eyes and smoke in their lungs still, pressed close to Central under a rotting blanket as the cold bites at them both through walls of a decaying house.

They could be in the simulation, any iteration of that, tucked away somewhere in the false halls of a false Anthill, taking a moment of respite.

But they're here.

Here in the future, still not quite accustomed to quadrupled form and lack of humanity. Here, where they have lost. Here, where they are still running. Here, where dream and unreality mix with stark cold truth. They wish they knew some much for sure-- what was sim, what wasn't.

All they can do, they suppose, is keep asking.

Did Pettachi ever feed me a spicy thing-- sime kind of prank, a joke? I don't know, Commander. I don't remember those details well anymore. (Mark that one down as a maybe, then.)

Did Rivera save us when base fell? Yes. (Mark that as real.)

I traveled with you, right? Yeah, I got this scar from those days. (Another check mark.)

We had MELD, in 2015? What the hell is MELD, Commander? (A no.)

Central leans against the bar; the Commander, eyes closed, inhales-- his scent mixes with the alcohol and the ship itself, and their heart slows.

Somewhere, they are still human. Somewhere, they are lying on a operating table? Or maybe a strecher. It doesn't matter. What does matter is he is there too, younger but still him, holding their hand.

God, they wish they could smile the way humans do. All they can manage now is a facsimile of it.

Did they want this? They were dying. Did they ask for this? Why was it this, and not...? Their head hurts, sense of phantom pain and ache.

Footsteps, distantly.

The Commander's ears swivel toward them. A rag tag mix of OG A Team and Alpha Squad-- Fisher, Guzman, and Johnson, to be more precise. They come into the bar loud, Johnson and Guzman laughing at something Fisher has said. Central greets them gruffly.

Oh, Central, thinks the Commander. Their heart swells with love for their XO, for their crew. Oh, humanity.

In their chest the thud of a false thing, made to function the same but never falter. Whatever they had first, it's long gone-- the aliens upgraded much of their internals when they were captured. Whatever it took to keep them alive.

The Commander feels a grimace across their face, knows it's not real, knows it's their human mind covering the reality of their pseudo canine face up because otherwise they'd be barely functional, they'd be lost to themselves entirely.

They mentioned this to Tygan once. "It's covering everything up," they'd said. "Pretending nothing's different." They guess it's too much to ask their mind to adjust so quickly. They spent less than a year in this form before they got caught, before the tank, the simulation.

And in there? They aren't sure what they were, human or this, whatever this is they are now.  They remember being on all fours in some of the hazy bits and pieces, but is that real, or just through the filter of their current self perception?

The Commander thinks.

They don't see themselves as bodily human. There is no overlay of a human self-- their mind is not that desperate. Sometimes it is, like with facial expressions and the sense of missing hands, but usually their self maps properly. 

To be honest, they weren't ever really that comfortable in a human body at all. It was fine, they mean. It was a okay body. A good body. Just not quite right. Just not really theirs, them.

The bark of Guzman's laughter brings them back. The Commander imagines they hang on her mirth like a lifeline. She centers them here, with the sound of her living and breathing and--

Central's voice calls down to them: "Hey, wake up."

The Commander opens a eye, looks up at him. He's studying them, a expression they can't read on his face.

They unfurl slowly, stretching as best they can in the small space, brushing against his legs. "What do you need, Central?"

"Fisher wants you," he says.

The Commander snorts, stands and shakes themselves as if they're drying off from being wet. The collar Guzman gave them jangles.

"What does he need, then?" they ask.

Central shrugs. "Something about a bet."

They roll their eyes. Or at least it feels like they do. Isn't that the same thing, in the end?

"Oh goodie, I love when my soldiers have scores to settle," the Commander says through a yawn.

They see Central shift uncomfortably, don't understand why--

"Sometimes I forget," he says, mostly to himself.

But they hear it. Of course they can hear it. Their head hurts; they feel like they can feel the inner mechanics of their throat, the voicebox, the connections. Obviously they can't. But they feel it anyway. A glitch in their mind's erratic defenses.

The Commander takes a breath-  false air into false lungs; everything a facade of a biological system, all tailor made to keep the brain running.

"Okay, let's go see what the Wonder Ranger wants," they say, half to Central and half themselves.

When they glance back at him as they come out from behind the bar and apporaches Fisher, the Commander sees Central lean forward, his eyes flicking from them to the younger troops, back and forth, taking in the situation.

Something about knowing he's got their back, just like after base fall, just like during the transplant, makes them breathe a little easier.

He's here. The soldiers are here.

They're here.

That must mean something.

[anonymouscomrade]

man can you imagine if this game took place in the modern day instead of 2015? aliens win because Trump immediately withdraws America from the XCOM project and gets overrun inside of a week because the talking heads convince half the country that the invasion is a liberal hoax

[rollforrandom]

Rough XCOM AU timeline:

This is a rough timeline for my writings in the XCOM universe.  I am using (or will use) materials from the following:

XCOM: The Bureau Declassified, XCOM: Enemy Within, XCOM: Long War (MOD), XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, XCOM: Long War 2 (MOD), and as many of thier affiliate DLCs and comics as i can fit without breaking canon (too much)

Please take all of this with a grain of salt, as none of this is set in stone and I am still new to writing.

Rough XCOM AU timeline:

• March, 1962:  Extraterrestrial influence on Earth detected, Bureau of Strategic Emergency Command founded • August, 1962:  Outsider invasion under MOSAIC begins, BSEC activated • November, 1962:  MOSAIC and outsider forces destroyed under direction of Agent Weaver, cleanup operations begin • January, 1963:  Agent Carter incarcerated in Alcatraz, cleanup nears completion • March, 1963:  Secret UN council approves joint funding of XCOM project, BSEC renamed and organized as an emergency department • November, 1984:  XCOM founds SETI as a front to scan for potential extraterrestrial threats. • March, 2015:  Outsider invasion under the Elders begins, XCOM reactivated in full. • March, 2015:  EXALT formed by corporate-funded crime syndicates • April, 2015:  First terror attack occurs in Dallas • April, 2015:  PFC Yang joins XCOM (Induction Day) • May, 2015:  PFC Yang goes on first mission (The First Drop Is the Worst) • May, 2015:  EXALT sabotages XCOM, revealing its existence • June, 2015:  XCOM deploys agent from NORMA two to investigate EXALT cell (Exalted) • October, 2015:  ASIA one science and engineering teams develop breakthrough, MEC suits fielded (Better, Faster, Stronger) • December, 2015: Avenger from NORMA One shot down over Canadian wilderness (Clipped wings) • January, 2016:  Terror attack on London, EURO Two engages full scramble (Into the Fire)

[fictionz]

New Fiction 2020 - March

Hogs of War dev. Infogrames Sheffield House (2000)

I played this game once, long ago, and have never forgotten it. It’s a strange experience. Do I like this game that I played briefly twenty years ago? I remembered it enough to buy a physical copy and store it on a shelf. And when I discovered I could buy a digital copy, I bought it again and finally attempted to complete it during my flights to and from Boston in February. It was too difficult, so I tried and failed again. Finally, I played an emulated copy using cheats to give myself an unlimited number of promotion points and upgrade my soldiers. I completed the game. I remain fascinated with this strange, problematic game. The gameplay is best described as Worms in 3D, but more fun than the actual attempts to make Worms in 3D. The movement is faster, and the reactive physics are key to making this a unique experience compared to other turn-based combat games. The problematic part is the comedy derived from the stereotypical depictions of anthropomorphized pig soldiers who hail from fictionalized versions of nationalities such as Japanese, French, and American. The accents in particular are... tough to get over. It's a shame, because otherwise, the game is fun, a proper challenge, and should have been more popular than it was.

MASSIVE CHALICE dev. Double Fine Productions (2015)

I didn’t get to work on this one. I’ve worked on almost everything at Double Fine, but 2015 was a turbulent year and I left without making a mark on this release. It remained one of our few games that I hadn’t completed until last month. Having played Hogs of War, I felt encouraged to make the journey through the game and continue exploring turn-based combat. MASSIVE CHALICE is closer to XCOM than Hogs. Movement isn’t in real-time as in Hogs, but limited to moving along a certain numbers of spaces on a grid. It’s structured more like a board game. This means that the game is as it’s best when tension is high because strategy demands patience and some battles are won by the skin of one’s teeth. The player must build up generations of soldiers, choosing who fights and who helps the war machine in other areas. The elements are generated differently each time, resulting in random soldiers being born and raised, as well as random enemy and story encounters. It results in a unique story with the same conclusion every time. My playthrough was fraught with close calls and though I failed the final mission, it didn’t feel like a Game Over. I got a finale cutscene and a satisfying conclusion.

“Playdate with Destiny” dir. David Silverman (2020)

Maggie is the most neglected character on The Simpsons, and it’s always nice to see her get some attention. This animated short was a perfect example of showing instead of telling, which was a perfect challenge for an animation director. Without the need of dialogue the show typically employs, the short is free to show a sweet tale that has its funny moments.

Onward dir. Dan Scanlon (2020)

This story wasn’t quite what I expected, and the marketing certainly sets up an expectation that the creators subvert. It outlines a process in which one deals with loss by yearning for that which was lost, but failing to see what’s still here. The lesson is there as it is with all Pixar films. It hit me particularly hard as I consider my relationships to family.

The Invisible Man dir. Leigh Whannell (2020)

My expectation here was quite low. It’s a horror movie, or maybe a thriller, but I couldn’t understand the kind of terror an invisible person can inflict. The creators did a good job of demonstrating that not only is it a terrifying prospect, but technology can be contorted to reflect the worst of our instinctis.

Bloodshot dir. David S. F. Wilson (2020)

For a movie with as interesting a premise as ‘this guy can’t die,’ it sure was boring. Like the movie above, the creator of this technology is a sociopath, but his intentions are even more flimsy and realistic. He wants to get paid. Vin Diesel’s anti-hero is just as dull as his other roles. It’s worth a lazy Saturday afternoon watch at best.

The Hunt dir. Craig Zobel (2020)

I can see that they were going for some kinda commentary on liberalism in the time of Trump here, but boy does it fall flat. In spite of that, Betty Gilpin is fun to watch in the lead role. A lot of her performance is in the dips between her lines. Her looks at other characters and sort of lanky disarming of the tension. The violence is in the absurd realm of movies like those from Tarantino. I’d watch this again just for her performance.

Star Trek: Picard - Season 1 (2020)

Picard is a legend of a character, and it was nice to see him in action again. However, it’s a bit of a shock to see him and the characters from the Star Trek shows in the eighties and nineties commingling in this post-Abrams Star Trek universe. I watched the season with friends and reviews were mixed. For those who did like it, we thought it really needed more than ten episodes in a season to tell its story. Now that I’m watching Star Trek: Discovery, I can see that play out. There’s more room to breathe with fifteen episodes in their seasons. Picard has room for improvement and with another season guaranteed, I’m hoping they stabilize and add more room for their stories.