Last Train Home

mTk

mTk

FGM Lieutenant General
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Location
Montara, CA near San Francisco
Release date 11-28-23.
I like what's going on here, but there is a LOT of micro managing while on /about the train.
Perhaps too much. Plus it is an RTS so there's that.
Does look interesting though.
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store.steampowered.com

Last Train Home on Steam

The Great War is over - the fight continues. Command a legion of soldiers, desperately trying to make their way home amidst the chaos of civil war. Lead them through the unforgiving wilderness onboard an armored train. Manage your crew and resources and try to survive.
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There's a difficulty setting, at least in the demo, to suppress/simplify the train management part of the game.
I haven't tried it though, I played the demo all inclusive.
 
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Hmm. I just realized this is NOT a TB game. Duh! As you probably know I am not an RTS fanboy.
However, from what I've seen of this (on You Tube) it could be mistaken for one. It does not
have all the usual RTS warning signs like seizure inflicting flashing lights, Total War mobs or
724 hot keys to learn.
The whole thing looks very organized and while there is always a LOT to do (the Devs love this)
after a while it all comes together. They did JA3 so I'm gonna give this a go.
Got permission from Mrs Santa. ;)
 
A little weak on my Greek literature soo...
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"Anabasis is the most famous work of the Ancient Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon.
It gives an account of the expedition of the Ten Thousand, an army of Greek mercenaries hired by
Cyrus the Younger to help him seize the throne of Persia from his brother, Artaxerxes II, in 401 BC.
The seven books making up the Anabasis were composed circa 370 BC." - Wiki
 
I've put a couple of hrs into this now and am only now ready to leave the last of the tutes. The UI has soo many buttons
and I'm still not entirely up to speed. Which I guess is fine as not everything has been dealt with re the tutorials. I mean
there is a LOT to do in/about the train.
Unlike most CRPGs there is no messing with armor or weapons. If you wore it to start that's what we'll bury you in. There
are a modest amount of weapons to play with as some can be found. Some mods can added via a workshop train car. It's
almost as if this were an afterthought as I've not found anyway to add/subtract or trade weapons between soldiers.
In their place you have to micro-manage each person on the train as they can better themselves by earning Exp and they
have LOTS of personal categories to keep up with. Then, each train car and engine can me modded and improved. Which
means you need to keep a close watch on resources which are used to improve the train and keep it running. Soo many
buttons. It's OK though as I find it entertaining.
ATM, although I am slowly getting better is I haven't developed muscle memory with my mouse buttons. I find myself moving
when I wanna shoot. This has ended up occasionally with a lot of swearing, but I'm reducing those errors as well.
So, next stop Moscow before we begin our long journey. Something really wonky happens in Moscow, but no spoilers from me,
at least for now.
 
Weeeell. I was getting ready to leave Moscow when...I pushed the wrong damned button and tossed myself out to
desktop. "Game over man, game over"! I had not been scum saving and for whatever reason the auto save hadn't
been triggered since I got there. Aaaargh!
So, I went back and was in the middle of a fight when the Reds hit me completely unexpected on my unprotected right
flank, killed one before I could blink and figure out what was going on. Then they killed my medic who was going to help.
That's enough for one night. At least I had saved going into the fight.
Still having (me) issues with the UI, but slowly improving. Did figure out a couple of things so there's that.
I have learned one thing though. If you think there may be a Red anywhere close NEVER end a soldier's move unless
everyone is under cover of some kind. This is another one of those games that make you pay dearly for nonchalance.
 
Casualties can mount very quickly, the game does not forgive mistakes.
Be especially wary of Maxims. They win in practically every situation. In the demo, I attacked one with the whole squad from behind cover - perfect setup. The gunner still managed to swing around and take down one soldier.
Stealth kills cannot be used on them. They have a common HP pool with the gunner, so they take quite a bit of shooting to kill. Sometimes, explosive barrels or other items are placed deceivingly close to them, but these will take only about half of their HP and alert them to your attack.
The only thing that reliably works on Maxims are hand grenades. These may be hard to come by, so don't toss them around too much.
Make sure you always are on the correct end of the Maxim machinegun!
 
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Got it. Send HE down range to Maxims.
Got through Moscow w/o any fatalities. And I was MUCH smarter about it. The most important thing I learned this
time around is that the space bar <pause> is my friend. Much more efficient to plot my moves and think ahead
without being under pressure of enemy troops to suddenly appear out of somewhere. Late to the party, but at least
I did get there.
We also added 10 Moscow Legion survivors to our ranks. I want to form a 2nd squad of 4-5 dedicated to resource
gathering which would allow my #1 squad to rest and recoup its stamina and recover from minor wounds. I've already
got a 2nd MG guy to give them some protection as needed.
The riflemen with the bayonet skill just make me laugh. Tell them to "Fix bayonets!" and charge. They will go running
forward, usually dodging the defensive fire, run right up to the targeted Red guy and stab him multiple times. It would
be waay OP'd except he can only attack one enemy that way and then has a cool-down before he can do it again.
Devs released their first patch, but nothing major. Mostly addressed player noted bugs. Supposedly one was some
wonkiness assigning secondary jobs to otherwise underemployed troops. I think I still have the problem, but it's not
really an issue at the moment.
Resources. Oh, my! That is going to be a permanent problem. Moscow was rated 4-skulls in difficulty and that looks
a little like the higher range. I really hope the next couple of days allow me to do some housekeeping and resource
gathering.
Next objective the town of Penza. The strategy map is huge. There are 24 POI's (points of interest) between here and
there. I'll be stopping at every one of them looking for resources. :geek:
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KF3LNQF.png
 
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Better. Much better. The game showed some temporary mercy. As I've moved up the line I've visited 11-12 more
POI and have only had two small encounters with the Red guys
If the POI is not at least a village or small/large town the resources to be had are meek indeed. And again, if you don't
have a person in your squad with a particular skill to boost the amount of a particular resource you are looking to collect
you've made a mistake.
Beware. I didn't pay attention as I should have to a minor mission that developed (save the warehouse from being destroyed).
Didn't realize it was time sensitive. By the time I decided to look into it it had been burned to the ground and nothing to be
found except some Red guys w/guns. FOW kept me from seeing what was going on. Well done.
Resources, resources, resources. I'm not having to much difficulty getting enough to keep the train moving and troops fed, but
little else. I have added some heating and insulation upgrades to my infantry cars, but that's about it. Oh, I'm also working on an
upgrade to my engine power to allow for the addition of another car. REALLY need a hospital car. I've got to do better as I know I
am going to run into maintenance problems soon and not sure how I'm going to be able to deal with that.
There is a big fight coming as I rec'd intel there is a Red Army camp not to far away. I'm going to do what can to get my #1 squad
as healthy as I can. I may need to bring my other MG guy as well. Of course, MG ammo is hard to come by. (sigh)
 
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