Noyhauser

Yes but if they land and they are on an infiltration mission you automatically lose that country's support. Its essential that you take them out in the air otherwise you will lose another country.

Might you be thinking of gearkreig? (its not really a show, just an RPG/Tactical game) http://www.dp9.com/Worlds/GK.htm

Also chose your base locations carefully. You want to be able to defend your sugar daddies first. If you lose Argentina early, its no biggie. Lose the US early game and you might as well give up. First one I put in North America, follwed up by Europe, then Japan. This covers most of your main contributors. Then I usually get South East Asia, South America and Africa.

Just adding to what Mr. March excellent comments. #1 thing to get is the Laser rifle. There is no substitute. Even later in the game I had units carrying them just as a backup weapon, they are that versatile. And you can sell them at fantastic profit too. The other "must have" is the medkit. Over the course of the game you will get shot, blown up or stunned, its a fact. There is nothing more helpless than watching a prized captain or alien prisoner bleed to death because you don't have a medkit. I can remember games where I had like 2 turns before someone bled to death and I had to throw a medkit across from unit to unit to get it to a needed place in time. Even though Mr. March probably has enough ninja skills to pull off the stun rod/smoke grenade strategy, most of us don't. So I usually wait till a small launcher appears. More often than not you'll find one by your fifth mission, particularly if you do a terror mission early. That just makes stunning so much easier, rather than rolling the dice with the stun stick. On some missions vs a battleship I'll have quite a few of the squad equipped with one to make sure I capture a high value target. On that note, there is the game of "find the enemy engineer." Getting an engineer gets you the Hyperwave decoder, probably the most valuable base unit in the game (besides mindsheild). Its got unbelievable range (compared to long range radar), and it tells you exactly what no good the Aliens are up to, with what type of ship. Thats actually pretty useful, particularly when you start facing the inflitration scenarios, or they try to establish alien bases. It allows you to discriminate between useless experimentation/mutilation missions, and the big bad terror attacks.

I always seemed to have the same "exit" plan for my soldiers. First off I think you can look from inside the transport outside to at least get an idea of the surrounding terrain from some of the guys deeper in the vehicle (just make them look sideways). Now the first two actually don't go straight out, but they drop to the sides and kneel right behind the landing gear facing the flanks. They provide your side cover, ignoring hte front of the skyranger. Then I progressively build outwards, with two covering the far corners of the ramp, facing out and away from the skyranger, and maybe two more on the ramp facing directly the same direction that they are originally standing. I probably send only 4 or 6 soldiers out on the first turn, just to minimize their chances of getting fried by a single grenade (I think it happened to me once) and to maximize their chances of retaliating if they see anything. Those troopers should all carry rifles or pistols, and they should have enough action points or whatever they are called to return fire if they see anything. From there on in you start building a perimiter, now with some of hte heavy weapon guys coming out. then you just work through the map. If I remember correctly, the main problem I had with tanks was that they could only load from the back of the skyranger, effectively making them vulnerable to getting shot on the first turn.

One of the keys to prevent this if I rememeber correctly, is to take out the alien infiltration battleships BEFORE they land (through the hyperwave decoder). If they land, even for a second, the country will be infiltrated and lost, even if you land a skyranger and take it over.

70/30 with Gunpla. Last two I painted were 0080 war in the pocket 1/144 Rick Dom II and Kampher, Particularly because the Kampher is molded in aweful colours. I'm originally a modeler anyways so it doesn't bother me to do the work for that. (I just repainted a VF-1S strike into this scheme. After playing as Anaval Gato in Gundam: the Ace pilot, I'll likely pick up the Mass Production Gelgoog and do it in his colours, and take the char prototype and do it as a Johnny Ridden Machine. Lately however I've been trying to get better at the no paint method, but this is really tough too. (godfather beat me to the link) I just did a Powered GM with this method and it went so so. I find if you mess up cutting things off the sprue, you can be in a world of trouble. Its fun though, to a point. It prevents me from using my two favorite products in the world.... Mr Surfacer and Tamiya putty.

Most of those are fairly common sense, I mean cmon do you think I'd sell it if it was so rare I often run out of bases to plunder, making it far more difficult near the end of the game. It sorta becomes a crapshoot either shooting down the Alien BBs and hoping their power sources are intact, or wait for them to land (usually meaning they are conducting a terror mission or government infiltration). As for the Alien craft, usually I get a two or so firestorms just for heavy firepower (ganging up on infiltration battleships), and an avenger, mostly arming as you say interceptors with the plasma gun. Actually I rely most of the game on the skyranger. I find the lightning just useless, a bad compromise between the firepower of the Firestorm, and the size of the Avenger. That reminds me.... way back in 1994 a "friend" told me you could get more elerium by shooting the UFO power source, yeah that worked. I guess I hit it with far too much firepower.

Ladic: I thought the Laser Rifle was the most profitable sell. I love the fact that an elite extraterrestrial fighting organization can moonlight as a arms seller. I always had problems with elerium. I can't seem to get enough of the stuff, besides actively attacking everything in sight. How do you get around it?

Apparently the decompression ripped all four of the plane's hydrolic lines, rendering them inoperable.

I know exactly what you mean but with the original XCOM. At first the game scares the **** out of you, going up against sectoids with nothing but conventional weaponry... particularly when you have to do a terror mission with a skyranger full of rookies. You can almost count one or two of them getting mind controlled. Once you get the laser rifle (and the floaters show up) you start to get ahead in the tech department and it gets easier. Then you get plasma weapons and powered suits, and finally the blaster bomb. I don't think there is anything more fun than breaching the upper level hull of a UFO battleship with a blaster, then having a second and third shots fire through the hole and zig-zag down the hallways of a ship. Really the rest of the mission becomes finding the scared shxtless Muton or Snakeman grunt hiding in a corner of the ship. Where **** went down was when the ethereals showed up. I can distinctly remember several missions getting almost completely wiped out (by blasters) save for a panicky soldier, praying he will last long enough to pick up his gun and kill the last remaining ethereal. They don't make games as good as this.

Might want to get some of your facts straight Mislovrit, starting with Fallujah as a "shia city" and the 2004 Al-Fajr campaign as a strike against the Mahdi army.

It cuts both ways Mislovrit. The fear of nuclear escalation is enough of a deterrant for the United States as well. Why don't we go bomb north Korea then, and then Iran too? Yeah, and look how well that worked on a limited scale. We used a large amount of PGMs, and fire, probably killed 80% of the insurgents in the city, and well, two months later the city was again a no-go area. You just alienated a greater proportion of the population Sunni population, inciting more people to fight against the United States and the Current Iraqi government. The French used horrific tactics during the algerian war to coerce the population, conducting mass killings, the blantant use of torture, and strong armed tactics: Far beyond the ROEs that anybody conducted in WWII. And they failed, miserably. What you propose is exactly the type of tactics that has created the current difficulties we now face. Counterinsurgency is like a political campaign, where you can't bomb your enemy into submission, particularly if you want to create a democracy. Did you even read Petraeus' quote? What you suggest is his worst nightmare. Its a supporting piece to counduct heavy conventional warfare, the type that a war with China would clearly necessistate. What do you think we can just do without heavy conventional artillery to conduct mobile warfare? Face it Mislovrit, you're wrong on both counts. It seems like your only solution to all the world's problems is to conduct strategic bombing.

Oh god Mislovrit, That and the fact they have 55 ICBMs to hit the United States, and 50 more that can hit all of our allies in the region. and Thats strange Mislrovit because Petraeus would never say that. Actually its that sort of narrow minded thinking that he's very much against. Here's a quote from the Forward of Field Manual-2.24 (Counterinsurgency) written by Petraeus Then again, maybe we should carpet bomb Najaf, just to see what happens. Does the word Crusader ring a bell? Though they haven't stopped spending, much of the capital budget has been directed towards current operational needs, and other programs, not the Future Combat System.

Most scans can be found here: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/ Just find the model you want from this list http://www.1999.co.jp/search_e.asp?Typ1_c=...;kensaku=Search

A couple of years ago I got in a debate while writing a thesis paper with a a pair of US Colonels about this very subject. UAVs I think are part of a different revolution, but its not one you suggest. Airpower hasn't really changed in employment and theory for quite some time. If you can find the book, Read Airpower and Armies by John Slessor and them compare it to Ben Lambeths book The Transformation of American Air Power. Its actually pretty fascinating. Now I'm not saying its exactly the same as between the 1930s and now. However airpower hasn't really had a revolutionary development in the past 30 years, in what its supposed to do or how it organizes units (discounting strategic nuclear theory). While technology has increased the accurracy and effectiveness of units, its not a "revolutionary change." Many of the technologies we talk about today as being decisive really have their roots in the 1960s 70s and 80s. Precision guided munitions, drones, stealth technology are all parts of this slw evolutionary change. Where UAVs have made a difference is not in carrying Mavricks or anything like that. Its just a more sophisticated tomahawk with a man in the loop. Rather UAVs are part of a greater revoluition described as "Net centric warfare" or C4SIR. Sure airpower has benefited from this revolution, through UAVs and JSTARS and other systems, this is actually part of a greater revolution, one that has actually diminished the Airforce's role to one of being described as a "bomb truck" in many cases. Unlike airpower, this is not a slow evolution, but a real revolution, with forces not only undergoing technological, but structural changes. How units fight, communicate, and organize themselves have changed radically over the past 15 years. Units have far more awareness of their surroundings, and able to operate with greater independence, mobility and flexibility. I could go on, but thats the jist of it.

Seriously, how could it NOT be RX-78? This is Japan we're talking about, the most predictable country when it comes to these things. You've just seen the Zaku Mk2, and Char's Zaku being released, I doubt they will now go with Turn A. Moreover the RX-78 is the most popular model in Japan, without exception. Really, its the reason why mecha models exist today, as it pressed the move from Chonking to Plastic. I could be eating my words come May, but it would REALLY be a shock if they did something else. I'd say the only other possibility is the NU, as it is amuro's final gundam, and the "ultimate expression" of the line.

So very true.

Pfft. All of you are ignoring the really important annoucement. A HGUC RX-78G Gundam from 8th MS team. You don't know how long have I been waiting for this one (and you KNOW that the RGM-79G is coming out next.)

The whole missile debate has changed quite a bit since the 1970s. Vietnam itself isn't an instructive case either. Why were guns so useful in Vietnam? Basically it can be boiled down to two factors. First the Sparrow was a poor missile, and second there were restrictions on BVR combat. Moreover you have to remember that the context was alot different. Fighter designs was alot different back then as well, as most U.S. "fighters" were actually interceptors designed to take on Soviet bombers. Most missiles followed the same design philosophy as well. All of this has changed quite a bit since. It seems that western missiles are far more reliable (partly because technology has changed, we don't use vacuum tubes and transistors for electronics anymore). At the same time Missile design has progressed and are far more capabable than they once were (off axis launches, very high G loads, multi sensor tracking, improved blast warheads). Finally fighters are more effective and optimized for fighter to fighter combat. Then again there is the question about how effective missiles are. The best case study we have today for very modern missiles in a roughly equal match up is Ethiopia vs Eritrea's air war. It showed that missiles might not as effective as one would think, at least quality wise for Russian makes. As missiles get better, so do their countermeasures. Moreover as the 1973 Arab Israeli war showed, modern major wars will likely have very high depletion rates of modern missiles, therefore there is some logic behind having cannons as weapon. This probably isn't much of a concern for the US, as they have massive stocks, and the risk of a major war is very low. But for smaller countries with small stocks of weapons (or where the US holds their stocks of missiles for political reasons) cannons make alot of sense. So its difficult to say. Personally I subscribe to the first school, that guns are outmoded for modern US fighters, but it makes alot more sense for smaller countries with less capabilities.

Thats not really true. First off, I'd hazard to say that the difference between guns and bombs rates on friendly fire is not very different. Just last year, an A-10 had a friendly fire incident with Canadian troops during Operation Medusa in Afghanistan. Also I'd like to know if any fighter (with the exception of the A-10) has actually used its guns. First off the fear of manpads has for the most part restricted fighters to mid altitude bombing. Second, guns is actually a pretty inefficient weapon, one that can have serious consequences over bombs. Unlike A-10 pilots who train Air to Ground strafing constantly, I'd hazard to say that most pilots get very little training in strafing. That means they probably would be very poor at conducting such attacks, creating more friendly fire incidents and high rates of collateral damage. If you're interested about the 1970s missile debate read "the Pentagon Paradox." and on the future of American Airpower, you can't go wrong with Benjamin Lambeth from the Rand Corporation. Most of his books are available online.

Oh god. You're the one who trotted out the history in the compedium in the first place. Don't blame me if you can't read it correctly. Unlike the dozen times you did before? I don't get your point here unless you failed to note that I said the PC aka the Protoculture. I'm just pointing out another continuity error. Its stated clearly in SDF (and I think DYRL) that the Zentredi were created by the Protoculture. If thats the case who are the Mardook? In DYRL the PC are potrayed as benevolent creatures that had an peaceful culture. And then MII comes up with the Mardook as the controllers of the Zentredi, a warlike cruel culture bent on galactic dominations. Hmmmm. I can see two posibilities here, both of which invalidates your contentions. The question is, at what point was it stated that cloning occurred in the Macross Universe. #1 If it was stated in the early 1980s (aka when SDF and DYRL was first shown) that cloning occurred, then your whole theory is wrong, and you'll just have to admit that Macross II is even further divorced from the original universe. #2 Now if the cloning history was a retcon established to give consistency with Macross 7 and Plus, then your argument that they didn't have enough resources is invalidated, because they clearly were able to design and build the Megaroad, the VF-4s, and the Fleet of human warships and without the need for cloning.

Thats not supported by the Compedium. PC 2871 The Zentradi faction fight but, due to the prime directive "Do not interfere with Protoculture," are unable to fight effectively against the brainwashed Protoculture people under the control of the Protodeviln. PC 2872 Nine months after the emergence of Protodeviln, over 85% of life in the Protoculture is lost. Direct combat between the Protodeviln with their [army of] manipulated Protoculture people (Supervision Army) and the Zentradi. It makes no mention of turning off prime directive prior to the 85% statement, it says 9 months after the emergence of the PD, not the end of the year. Its probably likely that after taking some pretty grevious casualties they turned the prime directive off, and then won the war with the Anima Spiritia. No you stated that the PC was killed off by the Zentredi, as I and the compendium makes clear, the Supervision Army/PD was the reason for the Stellar Republic's collapse and ultimately the death of the PC. Which in it self is a continuity error, since if the PC couldn't control them, how do the mardook? If they are the leaders of the zentredi, are they not the PC? Yes, and as I pointed out, it a "lack of population" or "focus on society" didn't stop them from rebuilding a massive colony ship (far larger in scale than the SDF macross) producing all new fighters and new escort vessels for that ship, all in the space of two years. And then for the next 70 years what are the notable achievements of UN Spacy? Relatively little. You can argue that the depopulation line but even that doesn't really hold up to scrutiny. Most of the people who survive the apocalypse you would suspect would be people with highly technical or research backgrounds (since they were posted to the moon base, space stations, Grand Cannon and Macross.) They would have easily provided enough technical know-how to produce new designs. And there were likely hundreds of millions of Zentredi that would populate the earth. Its very clear that many of the Zentredis would want to become civillians after being exposed to culture (if the defections in the series was any indication). And if you think about it, colonization was almost a must, since earth would not be able to support such a huge population increase of just micronized zentredis. I don't mind saying both are plausable, but really, the canon version is far more well thought out and consistant with SDF macross, and the Mac II doesn't really do well. I think it reflects how its a the poor cousin of the macross universe.

Is this some more Zinjo subscriptions? Its never specifically stated that the Zentredi annihilate the PC. According to the compendium, by the time the order was removed, already 85% of the Protoculture were killed, so it hardly goes without saying that they were well on their way to ruin. From there on it seems as if they get caught in the crossfire, rather than the Zentredi actively going out and killing them. Also, I think Macross II shows a completely unrealistic portrail of fighter development compared to the canon history. The crash landing of ASS-1 and the factory satellite undoubtedly has given humanity a massive technological leap ahead. In SDF/DYRL/FB2012 you see that this has already started with the development of a new super massive colony vessel, a new fighter, and new space faring vessel designs, all of which emerged two years after the near destruction of earth. You would expect them to keep on with this development trajectory. Macross II doesn't, but the canon history does. There is a VERY good real life example of this in US aerospace development from 1940 to 1980, particularly from 1950 to 1965. Technological/Industrial revolution in the post war era saw huge numbers of designs being produced, built, and retired in short time frames. Between 1953 and 1960 there were eight different mainline fighter designs in the United States that were introduced into service. Compare the F-86 Sabre to the F-4 Phantom and you get a pretty good idea of how fast technology was moving. Now compare this to the Macross Canon era. You have a civilization that has now been exposed to unimaginable technological possibility (and the ability to discover so much more) and a manufacturing capacity of unrivaled capability in the form of the Factory Satellite. 11 fighter designs in 30 years seems pretty reasonable, particularly when many of the them are designed to be cheaper substitutes for the high performance mainline fighters. In the MacII storyline, they seem to have forgotten this, and there is very little technological development at all. In the Mac-II, the Vf-2 is the follow on to the strike valkyrie, being introduced, (if I remember correctly) in the 2060 range. So in the space of 70 years the best humans can come up with is three mainline fighter designs? That’s pretty unrealistic if you ask me.

I'm playing Gundam: The Ace Pilot, and its a riot if you're a fan of the series. Its better than the PS2 Federation vs Zeon, and even the PS-3 offering. I've got a stack of four used Japanese games and I haven't even been able to open them since I got into it.