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I think the Chinook should have more fuel and have longer range and speed?


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Chinok is a transport chopper. It SHOULD be slow. However, it also should have quite a bit of range.

Maybe the fix would be for the nations to be a bit easier on you at the very start, given that they know your limited resources?

Well, money still needs to be balanced, anyway. I think it will already become easier once the "local forces survived" counter works, because reputation will go up a lot quicker.

Also, may I ask what inspired your forum name? :P

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How about the dropships get to use 100% of their fuel on the way to terror missions but must secure fuel after the mission is won, this could take 12-24 hours and then make their way back to base. Also some cost could be added for the fuel that is bought from the local airports.

I think this would also be a very reasonable option, as it seems realistic that you would be able to get some fuel driven in from somewhere near a city. Alternatively your troops could leave the Chinook and tank behind and simply board a commercial or transport airplane.

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The underlying reason why people want Chinooks to have a longer range is the complaint that players cannot reach downed/landed alien spacecraft. However, by limiting the range and speed of the Chinook, you make the dropship tiers more pronounced than they ever were in earlier X-Comish games, and encourage bases to be more than simple intercept/radar satellites of the main base. IF the aim of the developers is to encourage bases to be more than simple radar/intercept satellites, and people want to be able to reach downed/landed spacecraft, then instead of looking for the mountain to come to mohammed, let mohammed come to the mountain.

Make it clear from the very start the operational range of a chinook. Then, in the early game, have the most of ufos spawn and travel in a set of "range rings" from your inital base that increases in distance for every ufo that spawns. E.G. first ufo spawns almost on top of the base, doesn't travel very far from it. Next ufo spawns a little further away. Next ufo after that spawns a little further away. Next ufo spawns some place on another continent (so the player is aware this is happening globally). Ufo after that spawns close to the operating range of your chinook. Etc. This is a slow easing of the player into the concept of chinooks have a limited range. It should beome evident to the player (fairly quickly) that at some point another base is going to have to be built, but there isn't the immediate pressure to expand that there is in the current alpha. Another suggestion, again early game, would be to have ufos focus their efforts in particular clusters on continents. This would have players build new bases in areas where they can predict where they will get most ufos - at least to start with - which validates the positioning of their new base.

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Well, money still needs to be balanced, anyway. I think it will already become easier once the "local forces survived" counter works, because reputation will go up a lot quicker.

Also, may I ask what inspired your forum name? :P

Yeah, probably.

My forum name? Can't recall..been using it forever on hunderds of forums.

I THINK it might have been a very old Wing Commadner review....

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devil's advocate here. Having the limited range is an encouragement to building those extra bases, and equiping them with Chinooks. If a single Chinook can reach practically everywhere, there's no real need to do this. At worst, you could have multiple Chinooks at a single base.

I've found in 10.1 having to support the logistics of a assault base to be pretty enjoyable. I wouldn't have bothered had my first Chinook been able to get across the map.

Extra fun having the dropships intercepted. Must look into escorts for dropships...

Totally agree with this. Effective range should be a problem. Speed... Why not? But Why ? Anyway you can change time speed if you are bored.

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We're not going to increase the chinook range by any appreciable amount. I like forcing multiple bases and teams. Also, increased range is a feature for the later drop ships. Speed we may increase so you can reach landed ufos and terror sites before they disappear.

Yeah, I'd say stick with that plan. It IS just a 1979 chinook after all, (albeit a modified one) and not a long-hauler like the Skyranger from the distant future/1999, after all! :D But yeah, from the sound of it, it might pay to have it fly somewhat quicker - althoguh on the other hand, it IS a heavy-weight transport helo, and not something smaller and more agile, like a Huey. (heh, I wonder if the Xenonaut ground crews/pilots can/will still paint on the traditional 'shark mouth', and have 'Fortunate Son' by CCR being played over everything else on the Geoscape view, when inflight? Hmm... :P)

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Given that the Chinook is a rather primitive transport by Xenonaut standard I was hoping that there would be another transport that could be researched quickly (say, after getting alien alloy). One that uses some advanced forms of tech but isn't yet Alenium fuled.

This tranport would have to be built and could be limited by additional factors like smallish size (6 guys, no tanks?) but have improved speed and range to get the crack Xeno team to terror sites, when neccessary. It would make single base play an option where now one is pretty much forced to build multiple bases.

With the limited loadout it would then be players discretion to either go through the trouble of having several bases with teams or saving some money but having a harder time on critical missions early- to mid-game due to smaller teams.

As we don't know the tech tree so far, something like this could already be planned, but I would like some aircraft that close the gap between basic earth tech and Alenium powered killing machines.

This was a problem with the old XCom, too.

Leo

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Wouldn't that option make you end up sending the smaller thing to terror sites in the beginning? They would end up as suicide missions =S

Yeah, maybe. Your point being? Don't like it, don't do it.

Either let the terror missions pass and suffer the ill will of the council but keep your flegling team in pristine condition or go for the blaze of glory and sacrifice a couple of soldiers but get the funding boost.

The transport wouldn't be available until two or three months into the game, so people would have some idea of what they are doing and how they want to go about the game.

Some people prefer few (one) elite teams were everyone is a tough hombré and others might split their best guys up and create several teams around the globe to cover more ground. This is very much dictated by how much work the player is willing to put into the tactical missions. Elite teams often means repeated reloads of the more difficult missions until most if not all people get out alive.

The approach with dividing the best guys into several teams means a more relaxed play thanks to having recruits and tanks as bullet catchers. With this you could get more missions done and probably in less time but you wouldn't get that group of demigods in the late game, that many of us are aiming for.

Whatever floats the boat.

Leo

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Yeah, maybe. Your point being? Don't like it, don't do it.

Leonatus My point being that it would cause a counter intuitive learning curve, which should be considered bad game design. Most assuredly it's something game reviewers will love to whine and complain about.

It doesn't invalidate the suggestion, but it's something that at the very least should be considered.

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Leonatus My point being that it would cause a counter intuitive learning curve, which should be considered bad game design. Most assuredly it's something game reviewers will love to whine and complain about.

It doesn't invalidate the suggestion, but it's something that at the very least should be considered.

How's that a counter intuitive learning curve? You get a smaller, faster transport and thus the missions you reach with those are getting harder because you don't have as many people with you. Sounds very intuitive to me. A couple of words in the Xenopedia can explain the pros and cons of the plane easy enough.

When the game gives you many options on how to approach it it's hard to avoid some bad ones. Finding good ways to play is half the fun. I think that people who complain about difficult missions due to some specific tech will complain about the lack of a battlescape save option first.

Really the biggest problem here is that it would be a lot of work to put into something that's more of a niche option of playing. But if you improve the flier too much it would probably replace the Chinook completely.

Leo

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Since chinooky is always going to be late to the terror sites, when chinooky lands the commandos down, will some areas in the city battlescape be in ruin? That would be neat! Im sorry I have to ask, I cant play the demo. Old PC ;_;

I read that chinooky goes 275 mph. I guess that's slow for us watching unless we zoom in.

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That´s suicide

We'd have to see how the difficulty with the terror sites pan out first. Right now terror missions are suicide either way because of the funny way the morale system works.

Maybe terror mission will be doable with a small crack team that has been honed since day one.

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Maybe terror mission will be doable with a small crack team that has been honed since day one.

Hopefully not, since it wouldn't be a terror mission then. Terror missions should be hard/near suicide even with a full team. Which is why imo it would be counter intuitive learning curve to only being able to reach the site with half a team.

Edited by Gorlom
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Hopefully not, since it wouldn't be a terror mission then. Terror missions should be hard/near suicide even with a full team. Which is why imo it would be counter intuitive learning curve to only being able to reach the site with half a team.

Well, another option to go about this is to make sure that at least the first terror mission is somehow within reach of your team. Due to the heavy penalty of not showing up it's otherwise a serious coinflip effect that can severely hamper the campaign when one or two terror missions just so happen to be out of range for fledgling organization.

Or maybe just lighten the repercussions for the first lost terror missions.

Leo

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Well, another option to go about this is to make sure that at least the first terror mission is somehow within reach of your team. Due to the heavy penalty of not showing up it's otherwise a serious coinflip effect that can severely hamper the campaign when one or two terror missions just so happen to be out of range for fledgling organization.

Or maybe just lighten the repercussions for the first lost terror missions.

Leo

Sounds good imo.

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