Pictures of your Games Episode IX - The Bigger Picture

[Hurlshort]

There is a trait that lets you recruit the resistance fighters.

[melkathi]

I wish

though I have done a few rescue missions that had optional objectives to save more than just the VIP, and the resistance fighters saved in the missions joined XCOM as new recruits. Just got two maxed out Sharpshooters that way. early on in the campaign I had a mission where the VIP's guard was unconscious and one of my soldiers had to carry him to the evac. One of the nicer scenarios I played. Also really helped to get an experienced recruit as a bonus reward

[Agiel]

December 31st, Day 7 of the war:

 

"Conn, radio, new message traffic received, VLF frequency"

 

 

By attacking resupply tankers in the North Atlantic NATO would be able to severely hamper Soviet activity there, and hopefully remind them whose seas these are.

 

After a day spent at patrol speed we find our quarry. "Conn sonar, new contact bearing zero-four-five, designated Sierra One."

 

"Dive at five-zero feet, dive aye."

 

"Up scope."

 

"Mark contact bearing zero-three-nine, range fourteen kiloyards. Sierra Three re-designate as Master Three.

 

Submariners have a saying: "There are two types of ships in the ocean: Submarines, and targets." The Dallas has located a Dubna-class AOR replenishment ship, and joy of joys it's in the middle of conducting an UNREP with a Sverdlov-class gun cruiser.

 

As an aside here's a fun history lesson about the Sverdlov-cruisers courtesy of Nebakenezzer from his blog:

 

 

 

After the end of the Great Patriotic war, Stalin envisioned the Soviet surface fleet as interceptors of amphibious invasions from the British and the Americans. To that end, Stalin ordered the construction of cruisers and battlecruisers – somewhat old fashioned cruisers and battlecruisers. Both were designed along the armor and big guns approach that had been popular before World War 2. (And the HMS Vanguard, I guess.) The idea was that they could be defended by land based aircraft while defending the motherland. While I get the impression this was seen as a throwback by the Soviet Navy, Stalin had not-so-figuratively murdered half the generals and commanders of the Red Army before World War 2, so nobody was about to argue. The Sverdlov class cruiser was the result.

 

Initial plans were to build 40 (!) of these cruisers to support a number of Stalingrad class battlecruisers. The plan didn’t last long, though: the whole concept was scrapped, seemingly the moment the Soviet Navy confirmed Stalin was in fact dead in 1953. The Soviets ended completing 14 Sverdlov class cruisers, with most being scrapped in the 1980s. One survives as a museum ship, the Mikhail Kutuzov.

 

As you might imagine in an era of high-performance SAMs and anti-ship missiles such vessels had little utility as ASuW combatants beyond surface raiding undefended convoys. Most likely it was resupplying from providing fire-support to Warsaw Pact troops on the Norwegian front. 

 

The Dallas prepares to pounce "Weps, open outer doors, fire point procedures on Masters One through Four."

 

 

"Shoot tube one, aye sir." Weps repeats the process against the escorts.

"Conn, Weps. Units are running normally." This is somewhat of a holdover from the Silent Service of the Second World War, as the reliability of torpedoes then left something to be desired. In extreme cases a torpedo would sometimes circle-run back onto the firing boat, forcing the crew to conduct an emergency dive to avoid getting hit by its own torpedo.

 

 

Detecting the launch of the Mk 48 torpedoes one of the tanker's escorts, a Krivak-class frigate turns and blasts its active sonar. 

 

But he realises too late that he's about to get a Mk. 48 torpedo down his throat.

 

"Conn, loud explosion on the bearing of Master One, contact breaking up." Shortly after fish number Four hits her sister ship, a Grisha-class corvette.

 

Two and Three acquire the Sverdlov. It was going to take more than one torpedo to send her to the briney deep:

 

 

Looking through the the Dallas' scope, the skipper bears witness to the Sverdlov's final moments:

 

 

With her escorts taken care of the Dallas now has the tanker to finish off. She loads a UGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile and fires:

 

 

Upon reaching the surface in its enclosed capsule the missile fires its solid fuel booster to escape from it before firing up its turbofan engine.

 

 

And acquires the Dubna:

 

 

"Note to self: A 500lbs penetrating blast-frag warhead and 8500 tons of diesel and oil does not mix well."

 

While that Sverdlov was certainly a feather in the Dallas' cap, the real benefit was putting the Soviet Northern Fleet on the back foot. NATO "skimmers" should be able to breathe a little easier now:

 

Edited September 4, 2017 by Agiel

[Keyrock]

We haven't had Bokishi in here in a long while posting shiny pictures at 27000000000 x 1468500000 resolution, so I guess I'm going to have to step in.  Behold these glorious images at 1440p at MAX SETTINGS!

 

 

My intrepid hero, Sledge Muttonsmith.  I made him a Snake Oiler.

 

 

 

Pro-Tip: Never play cards with a Snake Oiler.

Edited September 4, 2017 by Keyrock

[Bendu]

 

 

 

 

 

[melkathi]

"Zeit die Erde zurückzuholen"?

Da hat sich ja einer Mühe gegeben bei der Übersetzung.

[Keyrock]

 

[HoonDing]

[Rosbjerg]

Trying a mod for RimWorld, in which you have to survive as a Martian colony ... 

 

Very very hard! just survivng the first week takes a lot of planning and then you need to seriously work out how to survive until the next dropship arrives with extra tools and equipment. Very fun!

 

[Keyrock]

 

[Bendu]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marelooke]

 

Got my hands on my first Legendary: Sunrise, the Daysword

 

 

 

(and yes, I jumped down from that ship after climbing all the way up)

 

The Deimos raid boss from the Chronotank's PoV. Not the best shot, but the only one I have, usually too busy not messing up to take many screenshots during raids

 

 

 

 

Giant statue of Abaddon and nobody even considers it worth mentioning. OK then...

 

 

 

Open Sesame!

 

 

Edited September 11, 2017 by marelooke

[Bartimaeus]

still don't know what the heck games you guys are ever playing, since none of you ever say

 

(actually not true: some of you do say what you're playing sometimes)

Edited September 11, 2017 by Bartimaeus

[Agiel]

Well that submarine game I've been playing is called <<Cold Waters.>>

[melkathi]

still don't know what the heck games you guys are ever playing, since none of you ever say

 

(actually not true: some of you do say what you're playing sometimes)

 

In possibly alphabetic order:

 

Agiel: Cold Waters

 

Bendu: XCOM 2: War of the Chosen

 

Hawke64: Furi

 

Fenixp: Sunless Skies

 

Keyrock: West of Loathing

 

Marelooke: GuildWars 2

Edited September 11, 2017 by melkathi

[melkathi]

 

[SonicMage117]

I love that cold, dark yet colorful art of Guild Wars 2.

[Fenixp]

 

I'm constructing supermarkets so that my biologically ingeneered weapons of Endless destruction are happy. They can now pop in for groceries while they're enslaving local population and consuming the very planet they live on.

[IndiraLightfoot]

As of today, I'm enjoying the hell of the new Dishonored stand-alone expansion Death of the Outsider.

Yet again, an absolutely amazing game with breath-taking graphics and fantastic music (I'm very sad that the hugely talented composer passed away recently).

And Billie Lurk was already one of my favourite characters from Dishonored 1.

Her steamboat is breaking down, and the sea is getting angry this evening...

 

She's got no ticket, but still a very sleek ride.

 

I saw a guard putting up a wanted-poster of me. He's in the dumpster now, snoring, since this will be a ghost playthru.

 

Those boards won't hold me out. Time for some break-and-entering into a sawmill yard.

 

Whiskey tumbler in the loo? In such filth, I kind of understand that you'd need a strong drink or two.

 

Balcony with a view...over a fight club. Time to find Daud.

 

I took out the cook in the kitchen on top of the boxing ring, and found out that he was making some nasty rat brew. Yes, that's a rat inside the bottle. I smashed them all against the wall.

I love rats, I can even talk to them and they whisper stuff back, for real...

 

I've found a new electric toy. Billie has the best gadgets around.

 

I had a contract on a white wolfhound. He was sick and I had to take him out. Said and done. Now, I just need to cremate that mongrel.

 

I've tried to chuck that mange into the boiler oven like ten times and failed. I can swear that he's laughing at me like a hyena.

 

Finally! Burn, puppy, burn!

 

This game is such a treat. Yum!

[HoonDing]

 

[Gorgon]

 

Holy ****, there's a battle axe in the Marrakesh level in HITMAN!  Some day I'll have to attempt a suit only, silent assassin, kill both targets with the battle axe run of that area's main mission.  This will, obviously, be INSANELY difficult as wearing anything other than a soldier or security guard disguise means that if anyone sees you with a weapon they will freak out and alert the guards, and suit only means no disguises, plus, it's not like I can conceal a battle axe.  To make matters worse, Marrakesh is freakin' packed with people.  Still, I bet it's possible, it will just take some absurd stealth skill.

How do you get a silent kill on the guy in the consulate

[Gorgon]

Just installed death of the outsider. It still bothers me that the regular run cycle is so slow, but Billie is supposed to be crippled so. 

[Hurlshort]

I posed as a massage therapist to kill the consulate guy.

[Keyrock]

 

How do you get a silent kill on the guy in the consulate

 

 

 

I posed as a massage therapist to kill the consulate guy.

This. 

 

Alternatively, you can lure him into a room near the stairs you go up to get to the second level when he's on the balcony.  You will probably need to get rid of a guard first then lure him near the room when he's on the balcony by throwing a coin, or whatever, then into the room with another coin or turning on the vacuum in the room.  Once you got him alone in the room, you can kill him however you want.  The masseuse kill is way more fun, though.  I'm sure there are plenty of other ways too. 

[melkathi]

World peace achieved through eating curry:

 

 

 

Barti-disclaimer: this is Garden Story