X-COM THINK TANK (Out of Character Discussion about X-COM and the Series)

[Meaningofbread]

Same here o_o Roger's not so self-centered as he is self-confident. He'll gladly help others in times of need, but of course, Meaningofbread's guy doesn't know that yet

I saw the way you swaggered while delivering the satellite! Send me a PM, and we can get some co-op running if you want to change my mind.

 

[Sarge-Pepper]

Anyone is welcome to post after mine. I'll probably get it up tomorrow.

Maybe te clean up crew can ask some things of Steve? Being that he did the same thing, but built stuff out of the rubble after...

 

[Johnny Asakawa]

Hey Guys!
In my role as Central Officer Bradford, I was thinking of "organizing" something for the soldiers, engineers and scientists as a form of R & R. I'm assuming that our base is in the middle of nowhere and that we're not allowed out due to the classified nature of our mission. I don't have any concrete ideas just yet but I'm thinking something along the lines of:
Birthday Party at the enlisted bar (Cake will be available and for those who don't like chocolate can leave)
Movie night in the Hangar bay (sorry no popcorn, that's been rationed. Officers can find the popcorn machine behind the counter at the Officer's Bar)
Alien Technology Seminars (Think about your post X-COM futures! I would imagine Alien tech and those who know its inner workings will become famously rich)
Cooking Classes (In hopes of improving the culinary standard of X-COM, we need YOU to be able to make M.R.E's actually palatable)

That's my list of suggestions so far. I'll post more if I think of anymore, and tell me if you guys would be interested in taking part in any of these activities or another one!
Johnny

EDIT 1: WiseKill (Johan De Fries), who do you report to exactly? Dr Vahlen or Me? If its me, I'm itching to try a collaboration sometime!

 

[PrinceZarek]

A mystery finally solved.

 

[PrismaCube]

Hey Guys!
In my role as Central Officer Bradford, I was thinking of "organizing" something for the soldiers, engineers and scientists as a form of R & R. I'm assuming that our base is in the middle of nowhere and that we're not allowed out due to the classified nature of our mission. I don't have any concrete ideas just yet but I'm thinking something along the lines of:
Birthday Party at the enlisted bar (Cake will be available and for those who don't like chocolate can leave)
Movie night in the Hangar bay (sorry no popcorn, that's been rationed. Officers can find the popcorn machine behind the counter at the Officer's Bar)
Alien Technology Seminars (Think about your post X-COM futures! I would imagine Alien tech and those who know its inner workings will become famously rich)
Cooking Classes (In hopes of improving the culinary standard of X-COM, we need YOU to be able to make M.R.E's actually palatable)

That's my list of suggestions so far. I'll post more if I think of anymore, and tell me if you guys would be interested in taking part in any of these activities or another one!
Johnny

EDIT 1: WiseKill (Johan De Fries), who do you report to exactly? Dr Vahlen or Me? If its me, I'm itching to try a collaboration sometime!

Sounds Great, I will write more to that after my collage classes so dont lose that thought. I want to plan some of this out, since more of us wanted to have something like movie night and such

 

[Psilon]

A mystery finally solved.

Lies and slander! That time in the alien containment facility was solely for the purpose of testing how well it isolates sound.

 

[PrismaCube]

Alright now I got the time to sort some of this stuff out, first of all that birthday party idea that johnny mentioned is a great idea, but I do not know if we got time and space in our journals for that, I guess we would have to hear the opinion of others for that. Now to the movie Night, Disco Panda planned one and some of us already are participating, would be great for some more to join, since that way its easier to meet each other. Or atleast start a conversation of with "Hey you were sitting beside me on movie night." or such. Alien Technology Seminars I guess that would fit into Officer School, something we could talk about or only problem is that Odd hasnt build a Officer school yet. But once it is build we can include that into our journals I guess. I know I will. Cooking Classes also sounds like a great way for some of us to waste time at base while waiting for action and I know that the Character Chris is a cook, so maybe he can lead that. Also we need someone who takes charge now. I suggest ALL the active Soldiers took some time out of there day and went into a small debating room to annouce a leader democraticly. Ofcourse we would vote here on think tank but write the winner in our journals. I would say we have one leader and a second leader who is in charge incase the first leader isnt there, wounded or even dead, then the second leader would become the new first one and a new second leader would have to be announced. What do you guys thing? I would really appreciate if I could have all of your guys opinion because I really want this to be organized.

 

[PrinceZarek]

Also we need someone who takes charge now. I suggest ALL the active Soldiers took some time out of there day and went into a small debating room to annouce a leader democraticly. Ofcourse we would vote here on think tank but write the winner in our journals. I would say we have one leader and a second leader who is in charge incase the first leader isnt there, wounded or even dead, then the second leader would become the new first one and a new second leader would have to be announced. What do you guys thing? I would really appreciate if I could have all of your guys opinion because I really want this to be organized.

What responsibilities would the leader have, and what would be their role? The chain of command is Commander Odd>Bradford>Soldiers, would the leader be the main organizer for group activities or would he/she actually represent everyone as a spokesperson? If so would they formally request actions from Bradford/Odd? For example, an increase in rations or wider range of drinks at the bar, or perhaps share concerns that the troops have. Would they also give a report about how good/bad troop morale is? And how long are they in "office"?

 

[PrismaCube]

What responsibilities would the leader have, and what would be their role? The chain of command is Commander Odd>Bradford>Soldiers, would the leader be the main organizer for group activities or would he/she actually represent everyone as a spokesperson? If so would they formally request actions from Bradford/Odd? For example, an increase in rations or wider range of drinks at the bar, or perhaps share concerns that the troops have. Would they also give a report about how good/bad troop morale is? And how long are they in "office"?

My thought that the leader of the Soldier group would be the one who keeps the moral up, also organizes events and has to be a trusted person, he should also spend most of his time in officer training school, so that he can teach the other soldiers what he learned or incase a soldier ever needs help because of depression or such he would go to the leader of the soldier group, but the leader would still answear to bradford and Odd, he is just there to make sure the Soldiers stay in top shape, because the superiors Bradford and Odd have other things on there mind, and having the soldiers do what they want all day isnt good either. The leader takes charge and incase there is ever a diffrence to be settled between two rivals the leader is there to stop that. Even the once ranked higher than the leader should obey him, the leader would have to be strict and fair, not fancy another solider over the other cause he is the leaders best friend. Someone you can learn from and joke with. Someone who makes sure you dont drink one to many at the bars, and who makes sure you show up on time when the entire soldier groups decides to play musical chairs one day. And yes, if the soldiers ever complain about something they take there complain to the leader who than things about it, if its nessesary to bother bradford or odd about.

 

[PrinceZarek]

My thought that the leader of the Soldier group would be the one who keeps the moral up, also organizes events and has to be a trusted person, he should also spend most of his time in officer training school, so that he can teach the other soldiers what he learned or incase a soldier ever needs help because of depression or such he would go to the leader of the soldier group, but the leader would still answear to bradford and Odd, he is just there to make sure the Soldiers stay in top shape, because the superiors Bradford and Odd have other things on there mind, and having the soldiers do what they want all day isnt good either. The leader takes charge and incase there is ever a diffrence to be settled between two rivals the leader is there to stop that. Even the once ranked higher than the leader should obey him, the leader would have to be strict and fair, not fancy another solider over the other cause he is the leaders best friend. Someone you can learn from and joke with. Someone who makes sure you dont drink one to many at the bars, and who makes sure you show up on time when the entire soldier groups decides to play musical chairs one day. And yes, if the soldiers ever complain about something they take there complain to the leader who than things about it, if its nessesary to bother bradford or odd about.

That sounds like a great idea, thanks for the clarification.

 

[Thenlar]

Being that XCOM is ostensibly a military organization, I really doubt an elected "leader" would hold any power over anyone of higher rank. Military forces are not democracies, they are tyrannies.

In particular here, rank is bestowed through experience and competence in battle (being on missions and kills). Thus, knowing what you're doing against aliens puts you in charge. Presumably, an XCOM colonel knows way more than a Squaddie "leader."

Sure, that's in battle, you say, but I'm talking about being in the base, outside of battle. It's not that simple. Military discipline applies at all times. Soldiers must be conditioned to obey orders at all times, which means it has to bleed into noncombat situations. If you get into the habit of questioning your superiors normally, you're not going to follow an order to charge a fortified enemy position, or run across an open field immediately. You might ask why me? Why am I bait? Well, if the flanking element needed a distraction right that moment, and you didn't go... good job, they died. Instant and willing obedience to orders is necessary and has to be constantly ingrained, trusting that your superiors are giving you an order for a reason and instantly executing, because sometimes, even a single second can matter in combat.

That said, leaders should need to earn that uncompromising trust from their subordinates.

Anyways, military sociology and psychology is a lengthy topic I won't go further into. I've rambled enough (plus I'm typing on my phone). I think an elected leader is unrealistic and unnecessary.

 

[PrismaCube]

Being that XCOM is ostensibly a military organization, I really doubt an elected "leader" would hold any power over anyone of higher rank. Military forces are not democracies, they are tyrannies.

In particular here, rank is bestowed through experience and competence in battle (being on missions and kills). Thus, knowing what you're doing against aliens puts you in charge. Presumably, an XCOM colonel knows way more than a Squaddie "leader."

Sure, that's in battle, you say, but I'm talking about being in the base, outside of battle. It's not that simple. Military discipline applies at all times. Soldiers must be conditioned to obey orders at all times, which means it has to bleed into noncombat situations. If you get into the habit of questioning your superiors normally, you're not going to follow an order to charge a fortified enemy position, or run across an open field immediately. You might ask why me? Why am I bait? Well, if the flanking element needed a distraction right that moment, and you didn't go... good job, they died. Instant and willing obedience to orders is necessary and has to be constantly ingrained, trusting that your superiors are giving you an order for a reason and instantly executing, because sometimes, even a single second can matter in combat.

That said, leaders should need to earn that uncompromising trust from their subordinates.

Anyways, military sociology and psychology is a lengthy topic I won't go further into. I've rambled enough (plus I'm typing on my phone). I think an elected leader is unrealistic and unnecessary.

I totally understand what you mean buddy, the only problem is that I did not suggest that one of us should become a leader of the Soldier group through vote and despite there rank, but Odd did. I'm just trying to set things into motion.

 

[Thenlar]

Yeah I know. Just ranting, I guess.

 

[PrismaCube]

Yeah I know. Just ranting, I guess.

No worries buddy, then again I guess Odd is just trying to change up the Story telling since what you were talking about is technicall what happend every season, where the high in rank was usally the leader, and that would usally be the dlc character since he's got high rank early on.

 

[Wisekill1]

New post if finally up, I'm not very happy with how the first part worked out but I think that the collaboration between me and Psilon turned out very nice.

 

[Sarge-Pepper]

I'd assume that there would be some sort of ranking system already in place. We are treating this like there is no more base personnel at all, but there seems to be a security force that no one noticed until the base assault, so there stands to reason there are many other personnel in base. Why not NCO's? Why not psychologists? A group of soldiers would have commanding officers and setting in place. We are just zooming in on the recruits who are moving up.

 

[ACisHere]

A mystery finally solved.

OMG. That was hilarious! Thanks for sharing that!

 

[ACisHere]

My thought that the leader of the Soldier group would be the one who keeps the moral up, also organizes events and has to be a trusted person, he should also spend most of his time in officer training school, so that he can teach the other soldiers what he learned or incase a soldier ever needs help because of depression or such he would go to the leader of the soldier group, but the leader would still answear to bradford and Odd, he is just there to make sure the Soldiers stay in top shape, because the superiors Bradford and Odd have other things on there mind, and having the soldiers do what they want all day isnt good either. The leader takes charge and incase there is ever a diffrence to be settled between two rivals the leader is there to stop that. Even the once ranked higher than the leader should obey him, the leader would have to be strict and fair, not fancy another solider over the other cause he is the leaders best friend. Someone you can learn from and joke with. Someone who makes sure you dont drink one to many at the bars, and who makes sure you show up on time when the entire soldier groups decides to play musical chairs one day. And yes, if the soldiers ever complain about something they take there complain to the leader who than things about it, if its nessesary to bother bradford or odd about.

In military life, there is only the chain of command. The level of command you describe sits between Commander Odd and the highest ranked soldiers in XCOM, which is a Colonel. Although a person of such a position isn't really someone you would "joke with." The higher the rank, the less they can be your buddy.

As for everything else you describe, it is every soldier's responsibility to look out for one another. Having each others' back on the battlefield doesn't disappear when you return to base or take shore leave. It can be a very tight community, especially in a place like XCOM, which is already insular and isolating from the rest of the world. A disagreement between squaddies would be handled by any of the higher ranked soldiers available first, if none are available, it goes up the ladder to people like Bradford and Odd himself.

If musical chairs is that important, then Bradford would order the Colonels to check each wing of the barracks and order the lower ranked soldiers to report to the rec room. Nothing about this needs to be delegated as a single person's "job".

 

[Gahlo]

Keep in mind that our XCOM is very ragtag. In what the game considers canon, it's a UN led group. For our purposes, it's an NPC going "who wants to go on an alien killing quest" that accepts all comers. We have career soldiers, hardened criminals, former mafia members, and a overly curious scientist that stumbled into something he never should have known about.

This isn't your aggressively patriotic uncle's military. Your rank could mean diddly to somebody because their chain of command was, and I'll quote the Hero of Canton, "You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til ya understand who's in ruttin' command here."

 

[PrismaCube]

In military life, there is only the chain of command. The level of command you describe sits between Commander Odd and the highest ranked soldiers in XCOM, which is a Colonel. Although a person of such a position isn't really someone you would "joke with." The higher the rank, the less they can be your buddy.

As for everything else you describe, it is every soldier's responsibility to look out for one another. Having each others' back on the battlefield doesn't disappear when you return to base or take shore leave. It can be a very tight community, especially in a place like XCOM, which is already insular and isolating from the rest of the world. A disagreement between squaddies would be handled by any of the higher ranked soldiers available first, if none are available, it goes up the ladder to people like Bradford and Odd himself.

If musical chairs is that important, then Bradford would order the Colonels to check each wing of the barracks and order the lower ranked soldiers to report to the rec room. Nothing about this needs to be delegated as a single person's "job".

I understand what you mean, but really were just trying to make this an awesome and fun RPing Forum arnt we? And if Odd wants one of US who ISNT the highest rank also to have a chance to be a leader or someone you look to for advice then I guess we better do it. I mean its more we are getting from Odd this Season than last, where he barley even mentioned the Journals. Just because you have a leader doesnt mean you can't joke with him, on there off time everybody is done for a joke. Yes people still will look out for one another but if you are someone who doesnt have anyone yet, then its always great to have a leader who you can go to. and if there ever was a argument to handeled the higher soldiers would settle it first? what if the highst ranked soldiers are the once with the argument, just saying. Maybe I said it wrong what I meant to say is that when there is a musical chair event going on, the leader should make sure that everybody knows that this is happening, so it wont get lost, like discopandas movie night.

I'd assume that there would be some sort of ranking system already in place. We are treating this like there is no more base personnel at all, but there seems to be a security force that no one noticed until the base assault, so there stands to reason there are many other personnel in base. Why not NCO's? Why not psychologists? A group of soldiers would have commanding officers and setting in place. We are just zooming in on the recruits who are moving up.

Great idea, you ofcourse are against me anyway, even if it wasnt my plan >_>
I mean if everbody is up for it we can make a NPC in the base who is the leader of all, someone who makes us do 100 pushups each day at the gym for 2 hourse or so whatever, if that sounds better than meh we can do that.