More XCOM2 inspiration for Visions of Empire!

Under Earth Federal Administration (EFA) Rule

Another IGN article about the upcoming strategy computer game, XCOM2, is full of inspirational material for my Visions of Empire setting - for the time when Earth was under Reticulan rule, complete with concept art of our occupied homeworld. This is how Mother Terra felt until we kicked out the alien overlords and established the glorious United Terran Republic (UTR). The main difference between the XCOM2 world and the Visions of Empire setting is that while the Sectoid/Ethreal rule on Earth will undoubtedly be kicked out by a protracted guerrilla war, the EFA was overthrown by a mass uprising led by the Terran Front (later the Terran Coalition), in which many EFA military units also switched sides and joined the rebellion. The large-scale fighting took place after Terra's declaration of independence, when the new Free Terra defended itself against intervention attempts by Reticulan fleets and their subject-species running-dog lackeys.

Terran Revolutionaries - Fathers of the Terran Guard!

Remember how miserable we were as slaves under Reticulan rule! Glory to the United Terran Republic - Guardian of our Freedom and Herald of our Future! Enlist today in the Terran Guard!

XCOM 2 Announced! Terrans! Fight Back vs. Alien Overlords!

The XCOM series of computer games (the original game has also been known as UFO: Enemy Unknown) is one of the best series of turn-based strategy games, in which the player controls Terran forces fighting an alien invasion, be that from a base on Mars, from underwater or from another dimension (or an orbiting starship). The games combine strategic globe and base management with tactical combat in which a squad of Terran soldiers kick some serious alien ass. They are tremendous fun, and also highly inspirational for wargaming and RPGs, and one of the sources of inspiration for my Visions of Empire setting for Classic Traveller. In 2012 a remake/re-imagining of the first game was released, also with great success.

And now, 2K, the studio responsible for this excellent game, has released a cryptic web-page of the "Advent Administration", a supposedly "Utopian" government promising futuristic cities and gene therapy. This site was supposedly "hacked" by people who wish to reveal the ugly truth under the Advent's glossy facade. This is the setting for the next XCOM game - an Earth controlled by alien overlords, where a resurgent XCOM wages a protracted guerrilla war for liberation of Mother Terra from the alien overlords, as seen in the reveal trailer. Much like my Visions of Empire's setting EFA (like the Advent, a puppet government controlled by alien masterminds) being fought against by Terran rebels and the Terran independence movement. Though in my Visions of Empire setting, the EFA was overthrown relatively quickly by a mass uprising led by the Terran Coalition; the real fighting occurred afterwards, between the newly independent United Terran Republic and the Reticulan Empire bent on bringing Terra back under its control.

But anyway I rejoice at a chance to fight for Mother Terra and against alien slave-lords! Long live XCOM! Long live the UTR!

(on a side note, this XCOM game could inspire tabletop skirmish wargaming of small Terran guerrilla units fighting alien overlords...)

Armies' Army 15mm RUSK BTRs have landed!

I'm happy to announce that the four 15mm sci-fi BTRs I have ordered from ArmiesArmy have arrived at the post office today, and they are looking great! Really looking forward to assembling them. They'll serve as transportation for my New Soviet Federation troopers for Tomorrow's War.

Here are א'ם preliminary photos of them:

USE ME ExCom - Part I

Many of us who grew up in the 1990's (as well as older gamers) remember the good, old computer game called UFO: Enemy Unknown (AKA X-Com: UFO Defense). This classic gem was, and still is, one of the finest computerized wargames around where you get to run an organization named X-Com which fights an alien invasion. Besides the strategic-level management of your operations all over the globe, you also got to control your force of elite X-Com operatives against the alien intruders in a tactical battlefield. This game spawned a number of sequels which were a bit less successful (although I'm an avid fan of X-Com 2: Terror from the Deep).

Inspired by this game, I've put together some unit cards for an "ExCom vs. Reticulans" scenario using the USE ME Post-Apocalypse rules. Why Post-Apocalypse? Because this is the latest finished edition of the game, which is remarkably applicable, rules-wise, to X-Com-style games, having everything from Psionics to Anti-Tank weapons.

Of course, I'm using minis I already have and have taken some artistic liberty in terms of the troopers' and aliens' looks, but the basic idea remains: a small group of brave Human elite soldiers vs. a particularly nasty alien landing party. I'm giving them a BTR-70 rather than a Skyranger at this stage as I have a BTR-70 and I don't have a Skyranger at hand.

So let's start with the brave ExCom warriors, Humanity's best. Except for the snipers and the APC, they're all Rebel Minis 15mm Russian Spetznaz. The Snipers are Rebel Minis Sahadeen and the APC is a QRF BTR-70.







You can get a full-res 3x3 print-out of these cards HERE!

Next up - the Reticulans AKA the Sectoids!