Pre-UFO Research Options Thoughts

In one of the posts Chris mentioned that with there being nothing to research at the beginning of the game there was some confusion about how one could do research. I thought it might be helpful to throw out some initial research ideas. I'm trying to focus on things that would be relatively easy to implement and would not require too much extra coding. Also I am trying to list options that would give technicians something to do early on.

Initial Research Options:

International Cooperation - Opens up research for the following techs.

Nonconventional Rockets - Opens up the ability to produce of incendiary and stun rockets.

Extra Armor Plating - Increases the armor on the Hunter, but reduced APs.

International UFO Codebook - If UFOs are not always easily identified by size, this might give slightly more data about detected UFO's. Preferably cryptic like the number of lights or shape. (this one is probably too much work to implement). As an FYI I would personnally like radar detection to be a little inaccurate to add the "unknown" aspect to air combat.

Larger Missile Payload - Increases the damage caused by Avalanche and Stinger missiles.

Improved Conventional Fighter - If you really felt like adding an early plane option to keep technicians busy you could add a plane type that has better speed and possibly twin cannons to surpass the initial fighter.

I guess some 'upgrade' researches could work. The only thing with that that might not make sense is why the Xenonauts don't already have the best technology available to them, given they've not yet captured any alien tech.

I guess it could be something about tailoring the existing gear to fight the alien invasion better - as there'll be much more intelligence available on the aliens once the invasion starts...

I guess some 'upgrade' researches could work. The only thing with that that might not make sense is why the Xenonauts don't already have the best technology available to them, given they've not yet captured any alien tech.

I guess it could be something about tailoring the existing gear to fight the alien invasion better - as there'll be much more intelligence available on the aliens once the invasion starts...

My thought for the techs was that with some of the Cold War curtain pulled down for the organization the various countries that contribute funding to Xenonauts would be willing to trade some technological secrets to improve the available equipment. By putting specialists from all over the world together it would make sense that they would be able to design some improved equipment because they are being exposed to some of the ideas that have been on the other side of the iron curtain.

Maybe the at the beginning the the Xenonauts team could research some military doctrines or something similiar which would then give a bonus to certain things.

Couldn't you just say the reason they don't have the best technology, is because they needed a constant supply? I'd imagine that advance technology would be in limited supply. and Xenonauts need to be able to quickly grab gear they lose so they can keep up the constant fight against the aliens?

I've always thought the team (in Xenonauts, EU, TFTD, etc.) should always get the best the Earth can offer and as much as you need. Not just infinite weapons mind you but bases, interceptors, troopers, and anything else. That and we should be able to farm out all research and construction tasks. Earth always seemed to be very uncaring and ungrateful.

I always found that strange, more so with funding.

Its a toss up, they want to not be enslaved but they want to keep their money.

It's like they are saying "If we can't be rich they we would rather be dead!! and we're bring the rest of you down with us!!"

Its pretty believable though. Can't see too many governments being willing to go 'all the way' in support of anything they don't directly control (or even stuff they DO directly control).

Can always rationalise it them covering their asses too. If you fail, they can always say they didn't really support the Xenonauts anyways and were forced to do so by their cruel xenophobic neighbors 'oh glorious alien overlords'.

As for initial research, why not odd 'standard' techs that wouldn't be directly available from current armouries? Like the Shock Batons and Combat Shields. Unlike everything else they probably don't need alien materials so having them built off-site (and therefore unlimited availability) would be plausible. They'd be pretty quick too, since its more using current tech in a different way (batons), or upgrading an already present item for alien weaponry (shields).

Thoughts?

Replace Xenonauts with "UN controlled agency" and the reluctance to fund makes perfect sense. Fluctuations in funding refer to the governments belief in you. If you are doing poorly for them they'll put their focus into other areas (which we, as players of the game, know won't work but in real life this happens a lot)

Its pretty believable though. Can't see too many governments being willing to go 'all the way' in support of anything they don't directly control (or even stuff they DO directly control).

Can always rationalise it them covering their asses too. If you fail, they can always say they didn't really support the Xenonauts anyways and were forced to do so by their cruel xenophobic neighbors 'oh glorious alien overlords'.

As for initial research, why not odd 'standard' techs that wouldn't be directly available from current armouries? Like the Shock Batons and Combat Shields. Unlike everything else they probably don't need alien materials so having them built off-site (and therefore unlimited availability) would be plausible. They'd be pretty quick too, since its more using current tech in a different way (batons), or upgrading an already present item for alien weaponry (shields).

Thoughts?

This makes sense to me. At the beginnign of the game it doesn't sound like we will have access to alien containment anyways so why not delay the shock batons as well. Having combat shields be a research item also sounds good to me.

Why not have laser tech researchable at the start? It is earth tech and I believe X-Com did it that way.

I believe the stated reason for that is that Xenonauts is set in the late 70s, and so humanity does not have access to the technologies needed to make handheld laser weapons at the start of the game. Incidentally, I believe we still do not have the capacity to make handheld or man-portable laser weapons, so being able to develop them in X-COM without alien technology is a bit odd in my opinion.

Except its not earth-tech now. Its requires researching the alien weaponry and materials to be able to be manufactured (understanding of low-temp superconductor construction and energy weapon basics, etc). It is set during the Cold War after all.

Oh and the alien reactors for a reason that makes sense when you see the Xenopedia report.

I believe the stated reason for that is that Xenonauts is set in the late 70s, and so humanity does not have access to the technologies needed to make handheld laser weapons at the start of the game. Incidentally, I believe we still do not have the capacity to make handheld or man-portable laser weapons, so being able to develop them in X-COM without alien technology is a bit odd in my opinion.

X-Com was always set in the near future. And yeah I like the idea of not starting with laser tech, it makes sense. Researching any sort of offensive weapons (or defensive shields etc.) from the get go doesn't really make sense unless they're specialist munitions (like the missiles), because if you want combat shields, you're either going to want them from the get go (and so will have researched them previously), or after you've met the aliens and decide you need them, so it'd be after the first mission

Well, I know people didn't like x-com appocalypse much (its my second most played version ) but they had some relavent but in essence pointless research elements from the start.

1) The hyperspace gates - gave you nothing initially other than info. So adapting that to this story, you could make it about the mothership UFO that crashed. (I'm assuming all ingame UFOs are smaller than the pregame one)

2) Alien Containment - you didn't get to capture aliens until you had researched the containment unit.

3) Alien Language/Behaviour etc - Again, using data from the backstory can easily generate a couple potential "junk" research projects to get things ticking over.

4) Ammo type - Shouldn't be too hard to have the first research project be a variant on standard ammo, even if its as simple as doubling the powder load. Clearly humans got their ass whooped first time round, so this time we go in with Hollowpoint Titanium shells instead of parabellum or whatever. Would also help cover the gap between getting our ass kicked in the intro and (hopefully) kicking ass in the game. Mass Effect was a terrible offender for this - 2 minutes in redshirt dies in one hit, rest of the game everyone has shields absorbing multiple hits and can be brought back to life with medigel. Whut?

I suppose you could work some stuff like perhaps you get 2 sets of armour, a good set and a light set and you can research the all round set that isn't as heavy but is as good, like using american materials with russian construction techniques to get the best of both. Again that is more sprites and such to make.

An effective way to pad out a research tree would be to give every item 5 upgrades. No sprites to draw, just stats to change. Obviously, thats an addition to a complete research tree rather than a replacement.

Oh not that again. Tech tree padding with in-tier upgrades.

Having stuff based on the Iceland Incident wouldn't make much sense. It was, what, 20 years before the game starts? And the whole purpose of the Xenonauts was researching what was left when the original ship exploded and killed everything but a few staff officers. Chris seems to like the idea of having to research alien containment after you get your first alien corpses too (with being able to capture live example of each race only after each corpse type thereafter).

@AD: Makes sense with the combat shields. They did upgrade the F-17 to resist energy weapons before the invasion started too. Shock batons too I guess. Still sounds odd, making electrified billy clubs.

Oh not that again. Tech tree padding with in-tier upgrades.

Having stuff based on the Iceland Incident wouldn't make much sense. It was, what, 20 years before the game starts? And the whole purpose of the Xenonauts was researching what was left when the original ship exploded and killed everything but a few staff officers.

Must have missed that bit, still it does make some sense that there would be topics left to research, especially things like origins. They could have been ignored as irrelavent when there were better things to research.

Chris seems to like the idea of having to research alien containment after you get your first alien corpses too (with being able to capture live example of each race only after each corpse type thereafter).

Perhaps to go the AC route step 1 is research corpse transport and step 2 live transport.

Origins would be a good one, but it would depend if that was something that would come after you capture a live one to interrogate. Otherwise it becomes something like the Gates from Apoc (its a weird thing that we can't understand, that blows up our stuff).

As for the second part: Hmm...bit Apoc'y but could work. Having the initial topic being 'Extraterrestrial Organics Field Containment' or something. Can only transport after, and its plausibly the kind of obvious thing that gets looked over before its properly needed.

Dunno. Can't help but feel there's something really obvious we're overlooking for an initial research topic. Quick and useful to research.

UFO tracking maybe? They wouldn't have tested locking onto UFO signatures before the invasion after all. Just the radar one (the dotted line on the geoscape).

I'd like to see an air combat-related research project: a doctrine of some sort, perhaps?

Origins would be a good one, but it would depend if that was something that would come after you capture a live one to interrogate. Otherwise it becomes something like the Gates from Apoc (its a weird thing that we can't understand, that blows up our stuff).

As for the second part: Hmm...bit Apoc'y but could work. Having the initial topic being 'Extraterrestrial Organics Field Containment' or something. Can only transport after, and its plausibly the kind of obvious thing that gets looked over before its properly needed.

Dunno. Can't help but feel there's something really obvious we're overlooking for an initial research topic. Quick and useful to research.

UFO tracking maybe? They wouldn't have tested locking onto UFO signatures before the invasion after all. Just the radar one (the dotted line on the geoscape).

UFO size estimation perhaps? I'm not a radar expert, but it is probably really difficult to estimate the size of a UFO based on the blip it creates. Especially since the contour of the ship may make the estimate difficult. Prior to the research you would only get a UFO blip and its heading with no knowledge of it's size.

Huh, that sounds...perfect. Could also have it necessary to be able to tell if there's more than one UFO in a contact too.

Its not crippling to not research, but its very useful. And its easy to handwave being quick as a *technobabble* program to refine current signatures or whatever.

Could be interesting to have stun batons researchable. The radar research could be interesting too, although it'd be extra coding work.

Must have missed that bit, still it does make some sense that there would be topics left to research, especially things like origins. They could have been ignored as irrelavent when there were better things to research.

Still doesn't make much sense. No new info since the incident until you capture more alien stuff...

Could be interesting to have stun batons researchable. The radar research could be interesting too, although it'd be extra coding work.

Would it? I assume you're eventually going to have something that is the equivalent of the hyperwave decoder. Perhaps just modify that code so it does something similar in that it tells you what size of UFO it is, and nothing more. Prior to this research it just says 'UFO detected' and no more info...

Origins would be a good one, but it would depend if that was something that would come after you capture a live one to interrogate. Otherwise it becomes something like the Gates from Apoc (its a weird thing that we can't understand, that blows up our stuff).

As for the second part: Hmm...bit Apoc'y but could work. Having the initial topic being 'Extraterrestrial Organics Field Containment' or something. Can only transport after, and its plausibly the kind of obvious thing that gets looked over before its properly needed.

Dunno. Can't help but feel there's something really obvious we're overlooking for an initial research topic. Quick and useful to research.

UFO tracking maybe? They wouldn't have tested locking onto UFO signatures before the invasion after all. Just the radar one (the dotted line on the geoscape).

Good idea, thinking out loud (out text?) some more...

If you start with the premise that the game begins with the "return" of the aliens, then you could add all sorts of superficial analysis of the UFOs, perhaps have the scientists compose a report on its capabilities. It always bugged me that you had to capture a UFO to find out basics like its max speed and turn rate. So an early research project could be a first look at UFOs, sort of speed they can get, estimates on cargo capacity, crew capacity perhaps weapon capacity. Then that could easily branch to improved aircraft, perhaps the aliens have a better aerodynamic model than us.

As mentioned, better tracking capabilities... perhaps even a research element that increases a missile to-hit chance. Or faster missiles, more agile missiles.

Another option would be alien language or transmissions.

I still think it makes some sense to have research relating to the original incident, things that are over-looked or things that couldn't be researched due to lack of human technology. You take a PC back to 1850 they won't even be able to turn it on, and not because they can't find the button.

Perhaps you have some research topics that are maybe more mundane but true to life - research into computers, rocketry and so on.

Thing is, only really need 2 or so. Just something to tide over the time before you get a crash-site. Like medikit and motion scanner research from EU.

"UFO Capabilities Study" could be a good one. Especially if it turns out to be partially wrong halfway through the game (since it'd be done on reports of early game ships). Nice bit of flavour, but what else would it give beyond the fluff? Damage bonus against early ships?

Not sure about the rest, they sound like things that would already be in the tech tree. Generally after you capture the first UFO.