Predador-y Aliens

Over on the "How to post bugs" thread, Chris posted as an example...

"ie, "[V7.5 - Ground Combat] Aliens have infinite health!""

Combining that with the new test map that was billed as more of a search mission... and you have...

Sebillian Predator!

1 alien on the map.

larger than normal health/APs

Sebillians are already aggressive, close combat creatures so that's OK

Tactics to be determined by the AI that's being worked on...

A little back story flourish of these guys being genetically modified/ chemically enhanced experimental critters.

...and there you are. A Predator style mission designed to sow fear into a funding nation. Added dev points for making them available in the hot summer seasons of funding nations.

Obvious really...

Could be interesting i remember the crabmen of TFTD

right.. Something mobile and a constant threat to your squad, until you take it out. Something that hunts your guys down...

We need then AI who can hunt. I take(if is possible to try idea - need to try it at first) sebillian warrior(all sprites here but he not used in current ufos), give him HP, AP and armor boost and spawn him through quickbattle setup. He usualy hides somewhere around ufo and I just shoot him some turns by all my soldiers from out of his los or by hit and run. Sometimes he reaction kill guy who find him(this time he was with plasma cannon - nice weapon)

Tryed alter his settings like Recklessness and other but not see too much difference.

To deal with 3 drones is much more difficult and feels more dangerous (they share vision and it is can become a bullet swarm from all sides)

Well aliens now are basically cowards. isn t that what the AI guy said ? but thy should fare better next iteration ?

Tryed alter his settings like Recklessness and other but not see too much difference.

Yeah, we'll need to see how the AI improvements affect Recklessness, Tactical and Situational for something like this. Possibly a fear inducing psionic attack to undermine your squad's confidence?

It would have been interesting to see something that shifts through the preferred ranges, as the morale of the squad falls. Ranged for plasma attack, then short range as it actively hunts then down and then melee (with a suitably nasty melee weapon, if there is such a thing anywhere in the game)

And if this works, terror missions could have a chance of the terror units reprioritizing from civilians to Xenonauts. Nothing like running from a Reaper, away from the bunny-hopping celatids, and trying to stay out of the line of fire of a hoverdisc until the squad can regroup.

Hell, within that terror mission, make the single unit in a city map, invisible like the civilian bug, and you've got yourself a Predator 2 tribute mission too.

*Governator accent* "You're one ugly mutonfloater." */accent*

oh yeah, I had a bit of a moment when I saw my first invisible alien. I wondered if it was an alien ability at the time. Now there's a perfect reason to keep it in. Good shout Piloter!

Invisible alien should leave no shadows....

Lol

Invisible alien should leave no shadows....

oh, I don't know. It was a nice tell tale so you had some idea where it was. Perhaps a shadow appears after it fires a weapon. Something simple that could be reflected in the graphics as they are.

Well the alien could have a visible fire animation as the weapon disrupts its cloak.

Yeah thats what i was thinking.. a bit like Invisibility in medieval RPGs.

It could have a turn countdown to re-cloak.

Having had a nose through the back story and another site, I noticed that the Sebillians generally were seen using plasma weapons at close range.

However...and here be spoilers ....that's spoilers...you wouldn't want to spoil anything for yourself would you?

Sure?

OK then...