Poil posted:

Well Ural nukes have a limited range and are less effective with their lower damage and smaller blast radius. And they are much easier to take out.

From the Diary of General Fedorov - Commander of the Mobile Commandos posted:

October 5th 2150,

Ivanov is a genius! I don't know how he figured it out, but a good portion of the Lunar Corporation is still here on Earth and from the looks of it are working on some sort of secret project. We aren't sure exactly what it is, but given the late hour it must be some last ditch plan to get off the planet. Unfortunately the project is heavily guarded most angles of approach but we have found a weak spot on the Polish border with what used to be Czechoslovakia. We must breakthrough and seize this project for ourselves.

Onwards for glory and salvation!

axeil posted:

bpACH posted:

The link points back to the France mission.

Nuramor posted:

Hahaha! I like this ending. "We're going to capture their secret project to escape! What do you mean we have no idea how it works? And all the scientists are dead?" Very fitting for this campaign.
I'm looking forward to the LC campaign.

my dad posted:

Is the narrator going to change now that we're apparently going to stomp our protagonist into the curb as LC?

Glazius posted:

It seems to be perfectly ED to a) build giant walls and b) destroy their own last hope through hubris.

from the Journal of Selena Shattan, Chief of Security, Project ESCAPE posted:

September 1st, 2150,

My name is Selena Shattan and I am one of the last women on Earth. Of course when I put it like that it sounds very dire, but the reality of it is that I volunteered to be here. I haven't even fought in The Evacuation War and during the UCS/ED invasion of Luna I was only support staff to one of our generals but now, here I am, on Gaia with a gun on my hip.

I should be on Catharsis right now, flying off to Mars. But a few days before we were scheduled to launch my cousin, Sombra, spoke with me. She informed me that, due to our excessive use of resources in the defense of Luna, Catharsis would not be large enough to house everyone like we anticipated. People were going to get left behind.

I was shocked. How could Sombra do this? She's defense minister of the whole Corporation! Goddess curse her! But as we spoke, she said there might be another way off for the people left behind, but they would need volunteers. It would not be an easy task. Abandoned here on Gaia, with only the slimmest hope of survival and no front-line units with us, we would need to get the project online and operational. Sombra admitted this wasn't the best plan, but it was the only chance to save those left behind. Sombra begged me to volunteer and help command the project defenses. I wouldn't be in overall command, a few other women had already stepped up and since they'd actually seen battle they'd be placed on the front lines, but we still needed someone with logistical and organizational experience. She insisted it had to be me, as she was the only one she could trust. She seemed almost...suspicious of the Council and getting them involved.

Probably because the Celestial Council wasn't even aware of this project and I can't imagine they'd take kindly to funding some sort of last ditch effort for those of us left behind. Plus, Sombra wasn't even certain it would actually work. She gave me some background, saying it was called Project ESCAPE and that Sister Kilija Verbic would be in overall command. After her disgrace in failing to defend Project SUNLIGHT she couldn't bear to take her spot on Catharsis and wanted a chance to prove herself. But she was no military woman, she needed someone with experience. Not that I had much, mind you, but I had worked in the support staff of the general who organized the defense of Luna. Unfortunately, she and most of her staff were killed during the UCS Invasion and any survivors died defending the last of Project SUNLIGHT during the ED commando landing a few days later. I survived only by a stroke of luck as I was at Lunar City 1 during the attack and it was deemed to risky to move any non-combat personnel in. They were on their feet, fighting for Luna while I sat on the sidelines and watched them die. Maybe my shame wasn't as great as Kilija's but it burned all the same.

I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth, but I agreed and was on one of the last shuttles between Luna and Gaia. So now I'm here. On Gaia, defending a project I know nothing about, and hoping that maybe Kilija and I can redeem ourselves.

from the Journal of Selena Shattan, Chief of Security, Project ESCAPE posted:

October 6th, 2150,

The seismograph readings this morning could mean only one thing: the ED have used their nuclear arsenal to best our defenses in Southern Poland. With those defenses down it's only a matter of a few hours before their tanks can threaten the research base. Even worse, I fear they've killed all our field commanders. The nuclear blast has severed all communication links and I can't believe any of them survived. We have no one left on staff with any sort of combat experience.

I don't know what those horrible men of the Dynasty are up to, but if they capture the research base all is lost. Kilija says we're very close to finishing up the research, but any disturbance would be catastrophic and put the entire project in jeopardy. Given the deaths on the Czech front she has now named me Chief of Security for all of Project ESCAPE.

I'm finally going to see combat. Goddess protect me.

from the Journal of Selena Shattan, Chief of Security, Project ESCAPE posted:

October 7th, 2150

Well I'm not sure how but we managed to fend off the Dynasty attacks. Kilija and I are still worried about the ED presence in the area, and are formulating a strategy to kick them out. We still don't have anything close to a war machine running, but I think we can figure something out to send those barbarians packing!

Teledahn posted:

Holy hell, that looks like a slog.

...but 4x plasma fat girl mk 4 with a heavy shield, does that pretty much win against any other land unit?

Glazius posted:

"Hit and away" is more of an LC thing? Have they got superior range?

my dad posted:

And so, the Earth blew up.

from the Journal of Selena Shattan, Chief of Security, Project ESCAPE posted:

October 10th, 2150

Wow! What a fight! Who knew that I could use General Fang's tactics against the Dynasty the same way he did? With the immediate threat neutralized, Kilija and I have decided we must strike back against the Dynasty. They're on their heels now and could easily threaten us again if we don't strike back. Thus, we have dubbed the exercise "Operation Strike Back."

The Dynasty are starting to rebuild in Ukraine, however we've noticed they have a large artillery installation preventing us from moving in a large batallion. We'll need to use a small group of fast units to neutralize the artillery and then bring in the big guns. Goddess protect us.

from the Journal of Selena Shattan, Chief of Security, Project ESCAPE posted:

October 12th, 2150

I...I can't believe it. The secret project is a teleporter? Why didn't we just do this in the first place! We could've all worked together and everyone would've been able to escape. We wouldn't have needed The Evacuation War. No one would've had to die. The LC-UCS Alliance could've held. Project SUNLIGHT wouldn't have been built. Lunar City 1...wouldn't have been destroyed. All my friends and family would still be alive. I'm sorry, this is all..it's a lot to take in. I need time to think.

October 13th, 2150

Sadly, Kilija said that while she thinks our scientists and engineers can get our teleporter approach working, it won't be done in time to save us. We've attempted to contact GOLAN and ask nicely for the UCS teleporter technology but have received no response. Perhaps the UCS took GOLAN offline when they left? Regardless we need that tech and we know that the UCS SDI Network is still very much operational. Any attempt we made to land a base or the Jupiter transport without first clearing an LZ would end very badly for us. So we'll need to cross the Atlantic. Kilija and I have determined that the Iberian peninsula is the most natural launch point, unfortunately the ED have locked down all of Western Europe. So once again I've been called on to destroy a Dynasty base. Sigh. Who would've thought being Chief of Security would be so...monotonous?

Poil posted:

Great code names for the operations.

Oh, man. Bugs like that are terrible. Didn't anyone play through the missions once?

Poil posted:

Great code names for the operations.

Oh, man. Bugs like that are terrible. Didn't anyone play through the missions once?

Torrannor posted:

I'm nearly 100% certain that the original developers did play through every mission at least once, but I suspect it worked back then.

The GOG crew probably only made sure that the game works with the newest Windows/Linux/etc. versions, and in the progress they most likely introduced this bug. And I'm pretty sure they only checked to make sure the game works, and didn't test all mission for all factions again.

MJ12 posted:

So my question is, what new units and toys do each of the expansions introduce?

I recall the Fat Girls and STEALTHs from the Moon Project and apparently now you have Building Grabbers which don't work.

my dad posted:

It's worth pointing out that the skirmish AI is noticeably smarter in Lost Souls. I was (un)pleasantly surprised by its ability to flank my air defenses and strike my resource units and structures.

Glazius posted:

So a skirmish patch broke a mission in the single player? Is that what you're conjecturing?

from the Journal of Selena Shattan, Chief of Security, Project ESCAPE posted:

October 14th, 2150

Well I never saw that coming! I head off to fight the Dynasty and the UCS robots take care of it for me...and then turn on us! I suppose it did make things a bit easier in the end. The UCS base was completely exposed to our attack and within a few hours it was a smouldering husk. Kilija says that this journey across the Atlantic will take the better part of a day so I've nothing to do except plan for the invasion.

October 15th, 2150

We've decided a landing in the Carolinas makes the most sense. GOLAN's nerve center is located in the remnants of New York City and the UCS launch base in Florida is too well-protected for us to gain a foothold. A New England landing simply puts us too far away to realistically achieve our objectives as well as forcing us to cross right near GOLAN. That only leaves the Carolinas and Delmarva as suitable options. Delmarva was appealing but the rough terrain in the ruins of Washington D.C. and Baltimore would make the goings rather slow. A landing in the Carolinas allow us ample time to situate ourselves before encountering UCS resistance, has a natural landing point in its beaches and provides an easier path to the south if we decide to steal the teleporter tech from the Florida launch base. Once I presented my logic to Kilija she agreed instantly. I suppose this means she is starting to trust my judgement.

Our scouts report that they can see land. I'm ordering a few units ashore to ensure there is ample room to construct a base. Once we've confirmed the area is clear of UCS we should be able to use a Phobos to temporarily jam GOLAN's SDI Network and prevent it from shooting down the Jupiter or any orbital construction drops. Once the base is established we can work on a more permanent jamming system. It'd be awfully foolish of us to come all this way only to have our buildings shot from the sky.

from the Journal of Selena Shattan, Chief of Security, Project ESCAPE posted:

October 17th, 2150

Rebel robots? Who would've thought. Although according to Kilija they're not robots, just people using the robots. What a shame. For a minute there I thought it would be like one of those old sci-fi books my sister shared with me. One of the ones like Isaac Asimov wrote where the good robots team up with people to stop the bad robots. Oh well.

Even though our new friends aren't robots they're absolute wizards at getting UCS mechs to do what they want. We've hatched a plan to steal the teleporter technology and the UCS rebels say we can do it without firing a shot. The Florida base is in some sort of hybernation mode. With the shuttle already having launched for the UCS escape ship, there's nothing to do at the space port. Come to think of it...there really isn't anything for any of the robots to do with all the people gone. Perhaps the UCS leadership just forgot to disable GOLAN before they left? I'm not really sure, but I'm starting to think there might be something going on here we're not aware of.

Regardless, hopefully this is a quick in-and-out mission. Our scientists need this information to continue work and I don't want them to delay any further!