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I agree with Bobit. I can't really wrap my head around why it would be good to limit the player to one dropship. First of all, the possibility for multiple dropships exists in X1 already (and is useful in X-Division at least), second I want to lead a global (para-)military unsurgency operation, not a squad of comically overpowered popcorn cinema heros like in FiraXCOM, and multiple cells are definitely part of this, third I always find it bad if my decision space is artificially limited, and fourth it may make it harder for modders to take that limitation out again, so why not just allow it in the first place? The rest sounds sensible though. Energy need as a limiting factor for base growth sounds good, but I would also be okay with an energy-less system like X1, where money and the base size were limiting you. If the energy system does something unique there, go for it.

Yeah, so this discussion sort of explains why we shouldn't try to implement multiple dropships right now - we need to nail down exactly what that means first. If the personnel that can be assigned to the dropship remain global, multiple dropships becomes a far simpler task (in some ways it's actually easier than having to special-case the existence of a single dropship but still allow it to be replaced if shot down etc), but I'm not sure everyone would consider that a valid implementation.

I have to say, I do love basebuilding in the way it was done in X1 and XCOM: UFO Defense. I prefer the top view to the side view, even though the side view is pretty cool. Mostly because I love the idea of defending the base you built instead of just defending some strange base which you would need to do with the side view. I also like the idea with simple radar/fighter bases, just like you built in normal X1. With the new X2 system I found it felt easier and more managable to cover more of the world with radar. However, if the main base is too small, you might run out of space to manufacture things for your troops and craft (and to sell, good ol' fusion ball mechant strat). So here's what I'm thinking. Keep the top down view for the main base. Lots of building space would be nice so that you can build a massive main base. Then the side view could somehow be retained in the radar/fighterbases. They could use a sort of "elevator" to bring craft up to a launch pad / runway. So and you could upgrade the radar installation on top of the side view base, as well as add more hangar slots connected to the main craft elevator.

As I said, supporting multiple dropships like in X1 is something we may end up adding before development is done but it's a bigger task with more knock-on effects than most people realise so I don't want to tackle it right now. For example, it involves: Quite a substantial code rewrite, as the code currently assumes that there's only ever one dropship Some UI changes, because you'd need to specify which dropship to use each time you launch a ground mission Potentially some changes to the Armory screen so you can manage soldier assignments to the dropship (although as soldiers aren't permanently assigned to dropships like they were in X1, this might not be too bad) More problematic would be not having a global pool of personnel, which would also be required if you want to have the full X1 system of only being able to assign soldiers to dropships stationed that the same base: This makes the more in-depth building assignment system a bit of a pain, because you have to make sure the scientists / engineers you want to assign to a particular base are already in the correct base You need an additional UI screen (or element) for shuffling staff between bases Strategic Operations become much more awkward, because travel time is calculated from the closest base but obviously in that case you'd only be able to assign soldiers from that base to that strategic operation - which means you'd need to have more soldiers at each base, rather than having a group of operatives specialised for a particular task able to operate globally - which potentially runs the risk of making strategic operations an annoying exercise in micromanagement rather than something interesting You've also got problems when a Strategic Operation recruits staff - what base do they go back to? What if the base where the team were dispatched from doesn't have any living capacity? etc Sure, we could work around these problems if we wanted to, but it would definitely be a lot of work. It's therefore not something I want to do as part of the main batch of changes as we don't yet know exactly how big a role the base staff assignment system or the strategic operations will play in the game. If we wait a few more months, some of the problems might solve themselves.

Imo, a multi-base approach makes sense if an only if it's actually viable to have multiple bases with soldiers. It was not in X1. So I chose the third option. Global stores makes quite a bit of sense, since transfer costs are pretty low anyways, in most games non-global stores just mean you have to put all manufacturing in your main base.