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Soldier Ranks: What Ranks Should We Have?


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So, basically, I want to create a mod that renames all of the soldier ranks, and gives them new rank icons.

The goal of the mod is making the ranks less high, so that you don't feel weird with a squad of commanders running around (considering that you the player are referred to as "Commander", this weird feeling is appropriate).

I would like this mod to be well liked enough, and to fix the aforementioned issue so well, that Chris puts it in the game as the vanilla rank names and icons (because the ones in there now, especially the icons, honestly look like placeholders). I don't know if this'll happen, but that is my end goal.

There are 8 rank slots to fill.

Right now, the ranks are:

Private, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, major, commander, colonel.

I'm looking at something more like:

Private, Private First Class, Corporal, Sergeant, 2nd Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major.

My question to you, the members of the forum, is this:

What ranks do you want the soldiers to have?

And, once we decide on what ranks to use, does anyone have the graphical skills to make good looking rank icons that fit with the atmosphere of the game, but also look realistic and not place-holder-y, that would be willing to make icons for us?

Thanks!

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Change:

So, I'm thinking that Captain should be the top rank, since it's not yet a field officer (like Major). Also, in another thread, someone requested more sergeant ranks (and I can appreciate that).

So, Private (PVT), Corporal (CPL), Sergeant (SGT), Staff Sergeant (SSG), Master Sergeant (MSG), 2nd Lieutenant (2LT), 1st Lieutenant (1LT), Captain (CPT).

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Private, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major

You could have some slight variation in there, such as removing the Major to add in another lower rank.

But, for me, the above shows a nice level of progression without getting bogged down in too many ranks having similar names and still keeping the overall rank relatively low (compared to current game and predecessors)

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Sergeant all the way up to First Sergeant? Should we maybe have Master Sergeant first, before that? It just seems like quite a jump (though MSG to 2LT is a jump, too, I suppose).

I like Captain being at the top, though, with two other CO ranks beneath it. Perhaps just Lieutenant would be best, and we could add yet another sergeant rank.

Ooh, I forgot about lance corporal. That's just the same as Private First Class, though.

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So, it seems like no one is opposed to having Captain as the highest rank. Major seems too high for me, considering it's entering field officer territory.

Also, having tons of sergeant variations can make the game confusing, so we should limit those somewhat.

Thirdly, I think I'm going to look to the UK's military for inspiration, simply because our beloved leader, Chris, is from England (and incidentally share's the same name, too.) This means that Lance Corporal is a possibility.

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Question for anyone listening:

How do I make a poll?

I'd like to make a three option poll, asking about ranks.

"Leave the ranks as they are currently in the game."

"Change them to the ranks proposed in the original post."

"Change them to something I'll comment below."

EDIT:

Never mind, I simply looked it up. Simpler that way, no?

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To me lance corporal and corporal is a really small rank bump, kinda like 2nd LT and LT. I'd rather have an extra sergeant rank in there between sergeant and sergeant major vs lance corporal.

But bottom line anything is better than an entire squad of Majors and Colonels. Reminds me of a scene out of Charge of the Light Brigade or something everyone trying to figure out who has seniority on the fly.

"I command the light brigade sir."

"Yes, but *I* command *You* sir!"

"Harrumph!"

Edited by shabowie
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Even cooler would be if the game had Ex and Ox rank levels where x is a number and they represent different enlisted and officer rank levels and it would spit out the appropriate rank depending on nation equivalency and branch of service. So like E4 is corporal if a US Army Ranger, Petty Officer 3 if a Navy SEAL, something else from the other contributing nations. Obviously that's outside the scope of a simple mod replacing a couple fields of text, and would require research to find out all the NATO and Warsaw Pact equivalents, but would look super cool and add to the already super detailed personnel.

One thing I will admit I find a little immersion breaking is the number of female elite commandos the United States fielded in Vietnam. I had no idea, maybe that's why we lost? ;). Russians suffered the same problem in Afghanistan I've noted, although I'm a little confused with that given the timeline. Didn't that start in December 1979 and game starts in September 1979?

Edited by shabowie
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Ah joy... casual sexism strikes again... Thanks for perpetuating the 'sexist gamer' stereotype shabowie...

On topic however - There is of course another option available. This is of course an independent entity apart from the various armed forces of the world. And as such, perhaps it has a different seniority structure. After all, in game play it seems that rather than the members of the squad having any command over each other, they merely motivate and guide each other better based upon how long they have served and the combat experience they have gathered. You are the one directing them - the remote director watching their video feeds and providing orders from afar within your base - while it seems the boost they give one another in regards to bravery is more due to the grizzled veterans of multiple missions motivating and reassuring the newbies as they confront the horror of the xenos, guiding them with their wellspring of experience.

Thus, the classifications have more to do with acknowledging the veterancy of your operatives than ranking them. In such a case wouldn't the members of this task force be receiving titles unique to the organization? After all, the previous rankings of the operatives have already been discarded. In such a case, wouldn't it be accurate to give the team titles completely different from real-world armies that they no longer are a part of? As to what the new titles would be, well, I'm sure individuals within this thread could come up with a plethora of ideas. In any case, that's my two cents.

(I must confess, I always pictured the Xenonauts organization as rather more of a private company in the whole business for the profit - bidding out its services to the various governments for a price rather than being some pitbull for the shambling, corrupt, and degrading world state wannabe that the U.N. is. Thus, it would be less likely to succumb to the dead-headed, unnecessarily hierarchical, ham-handed, tradition obsessed, and creativity hating tendencies that the state armies of the world of exhibit.)

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  • Rookie
  • Forward Tactics Specialist (red shirt)
  • Response Assistant
  • General Discharge Architect
  • Senior Group Coordinator
  • Human Assurance Liaison
  • Security Coordinator
  • Division Administrator
  • Regional Solutions Manager
  • Global Operations Strategist

You then get to use higher-order thinking to streamline the survival strategy and reach technology milestones while you reach out to off-shore locations to maximise global visibility.

Edited by Gazz
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There are only eight ranks possible in the game; you can rename them, but there are only eight ranks possible (it's hardcoded).

All rank does is boost morale.

So, basically, the ranks are:

Morale bonus 1, morale bonus 2, ... morale bonus 8.

Making the ranks do anything beyond that isn't possible, I don't think.

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Actually, I kinda had an idea for ranks (partially inspired by Mass Effect, though I've never played the games much at all, unfortunately.)

How about a simple rank of Xenonaut for all of the soldiers?

Xenonaut-0 (X0)

Starting rank that everyone gets when they join. 0 signifying that they are still a zero, because they haven't done anything yet. They aren't a true xenonaut yet.

(In speaking, Ex-naught)

Xenonaut-1 (X1)

They're finally a part of the family, as it were.

This rank should be fairly easy to achieve, after one or two missions, tops.

Just once you've proven yourself to be good.

(In speaking, Ex-one)

Xenonaut-2 (X2)

Xenonaut-3 (X3)

all the way to

Xenonaut-7 (X7) (see, like mass effect, but at the same time different. ;))

The top rank, super hard to reach, but if you do reach it, you're a legend.

(In speaking, Ex-seven, or Ex-sevendary informally. Maybe the unofficial monicker "Commander" because they're a candidate to replace the commander of the Xenonauts (an X7 him/herself) if he/she is unable to continue on).

Now, to find suitable rank icons... Hmm...

Anyone have ideas for rank icons?

Edited by GizmoGomez
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Regarding the Mass Effect ranks, aren't those designations rather than ranks? I mean, Shepard's ranks is actually commander, and Anderson is a captain (later admiral), but both are N7 operatives.

That aside, might be a tad lackluster aesthetically speaking (X0 - X7 instead of Private, Corporal, what-have-you).

On the other hand, it does add some uniqueness to the Xenonauts. Making them feel less like a government agency and more like they do their own thing.

I'll be submitting my opinion, it will not be as negative as I had planned (references, HO!).

TL;DR - Yeah, I kinda like the X0 - X7 idea now that I think of it.

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Yeah:

Go into the assets folder within your Xenonauts game folder (within your steam folder, commonapps folder, if you're using Steam) and you'll find the strings.xml file. Search (ctrl-f) for "captain" and you'll end up right on top of where the names are stored.

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