Alien Virus

Considering how the aliens watched earth for quite a while before attacking and how they are masters of biological warfare, it wouldn't be surprising if they found some sort of alien virus that turns people into aliens. Chrysalids are a kind of virus. Only a) they are bigger and b) they have rather short incubation time. Now suppose the aliens invented a small virus that had say a week's incubation time and started spreading it over cities. Wouldn't that be lovely? Xenonauts would have to rush to kill the virus outbreak before the whole city would be infected. UFOs could have viruses on board on a regular basis. Xenonauts would be surprised at first, how some of their soldiers perfectly out of the blue would get sick and turn to aliens at home, forcing them to fight a (small) base invasion scenario. Only after a while, if their research would be fast enough, would the Xenonauts realize, that they have been infected and needed some cleansing of their own and of any scenes where aliens have been killed. This could expand to a battle between the Xenonauts and the aliens researchers, as -- supposing the initial production cost of the virus is rather high for the aliens, the human immune system has a good chance of killing the initial virus and the initial virus is a one-shot thing, in that it cannot reproduce within humans, just change them -- the aliens might be able to create higher quantities of fiercer viruses over time.

Reminds me of the horror that is the UFO After* series. Also would be kind of ... well fucked up.. to just randomly kill a players soldiers when the developers are trying to get people attached to their soldiers.

In the end I think it's going to be hard to balance without makeing the whole concept seem either cheap or gamebreaking.

I'm not really sure this would add much to the game in terms of enjoyment, and it's a bit late to be implementing this sort of feature in any case I'm afraid.

I totally thought you were going to suggest an Independence Day computer virus for the end game when I read the forum title =p

I totally thought you were going to suggest an Independence Day computer virus for the end game when I read the forum title =p

My mind was immidietly brought to war of the worlds when I read the title. (the old one not the one with Tom Cruise)

My mind was immidietly brought to war of the worlds when I read the title. (the old one not the one with Tom Cruise)

Yeah, there's no need for a virus when aliens can just die from Tom Cruise exposure.

well maybe BIO weapons that ignore armor that the aliens break out on you late game...you could get bio weapons too, gas grenades that are harmless to use but screw them up and vica versa (must research live and dead alien type for the gas to effect em)

Cdr: Jean-Luc: Look! The tripods are keeling over.

Sgt thothkins: what could possi...

Cdr: Jean-Luc: Shhh, I'm trying to listen to the voice over...

Deep Resonant Voiceover: The Martians had no resistance to the bacteria in our atmosphere to which we have long since become immune. Once they had breathed our air, germs, which no longer affect us, began to kill them. The end came swiftly.

Sgt thothkins: I fell kinda...cheated. Germs did it? What the hell are we going to tell the Funding Nations?

Cdr: Jean-Luc: That our new Honeywell powered General Dynamics M41B-2 Plasma Rifle kicked their ass of course!

Yeah, there's no need for a virus when aliens can just die from Tom Cruise exposure.

Alternately, there's no need to fear losing the war against the aliens when you can be sure that at least Tom Cruise will go extinct when the rest of mankind does.