Gazz
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Posts posted by Gazz
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The cost of all this is that this intelligence gathering is consuming research points that could be spent on something else, so you'll have less powerful units than if you did no intelligence work at all. Finding the sweet spot between knowing the alien plans and developing your forces is all part of your strategic choices when you play the game.
That's the foundation of the idea, but I'm still open to ideas and suggestions regarding intelligence as I only came up with the idea a few hours ago so have not necessarily fully explored the idea yet. Any thoughts, comments or suggestions?
In principle I think that's a winner but I could see a little more "long term choice" tied into it.
If a researcher works on a project he slowly gets better at this field of research.
If an outpost "is focused" on a particular field of research, researchers in this field gain more skill but lose some skill in all other fields.
You can train specialists for specific fields but it's a gamble because if an alien bombing raid kills half your weapon research think tank you have few generalists who can pick up the slack.
Setting the focus for an outpost would be done by building an installation so there is a setup time and cost component. Otherwise you could just switch every turn as needed.
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Yeh, a vehicle is just a really really bulky suit of armor if you want. =P
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Of course, the fact that projects are assigned on a Regional basis each turn means that you have to choose whether you want to specialise an Outpost into a particular type of science, or keep it more generalised so it could work on anything.
Regional infrastructure could have a multiplier to specific kinds of research.
The CDC HQ in Atlanta may grant you a bonus to bio research so your 300% scientist is 1.2x as efficient.
Shuffling people around would of course cost resources / energy / whatever.
Now gaining the cooperation of certain organisations / locations could be a mission reward.
Or a number of random locations is first shown greyed out on the strategic map. As you complete missions in an area you unlock them at random.
I think I'd prefer that because while still largely random the player would feel like his decisions matter more. =)
Which locations are available and where could be randomised at the start of each game because it wouldn't take more than a bit of description to add more.
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I would always read that as
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I don't need vehicles.
I'd rather see the brain juice spent on fleshing out the infantry part.
The desirable qualities of vehicles could just as well be put on soldier weapons and armor.
- Having a way to deal with reapers or similar heavy hitters.
A suit of heavy armor can carry ablative armor. The soldier is slow but nothing gets through until the extra armor is used up or blasted off manually. - A way to eject from armor a considerable distance backwards. The armor may fail (or be about to) but the soldier might live.
Another worthy upgrade to research. - Scouting at night without using kamikaze rookies.
A suit of scout armor can launch a sensor package maybe 3 times. It must be retrieved before it can be fired again.
Some coverage - but not infinite or completely without risk. Just like with a scout car. =) - Heavy weapons are/were already in the game but they didn't quite have the desired oomph. That's pretty simple...
- Some armor types could get a shoulder-mounted slot for heavy weapons. No reloading or such fanciness. Shoot until dry, then it's auto-discarded for some extra mobility.
Easier to balance than a system of weight costs and buffs.
It's not about vehicles but what they can do for you. =)
- Having a way to deal with reapers or similar heavy hitters.
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I agree with Gazz that the Androns should be able to turn in place if necessary, but make it costly for them to do.
It's not a necessity.
If they can crush walls they can have a noticeable turning circle.
If that means we will see them use this ability more often - all the better. =)
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Depends on the overall game rules.
For instance:
For every one (or more) square moved forward you get 1 free 45° turn.
That would make movement more calculable because if you move 10 squares you pay the cost for moving 10 squares even if you had to dodge around an obstacle on the way there.
Androns would have a high turning cost so they could turn in space if needed. Turning as a part of movement would just be much more efficient.
While tracked tanks can turn on the spot, drivers try hard to avoid that because it's hell on the treads. =P
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One way to increase diversity:
There are a lot of different planes in service all over the world. It's not all F-16s and Migs. =)
Since you rely rather heavily on local air forces you'll never know what you'll get this time.
The "ideal tactic" you used last time against this UFO may not work with the planes you have available this time.
One day it's F-15, another Tornados, a wing of B-2 with cruise missiles, or an EA-6B for some electronic warfare goodness.
The idea is to shake up the player's game instead of him building / upgrading the "ideal" combination of aircraft and being done with this part of the game.
Maybe... you have wings arriving at different times.
You can engage before all wings are on the spot which means worse odds but more time before the target can flee.
"Incoming" wings would have a timer tick down and join the fun a bit later.
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Androns:
As they do not have regeneration, I think we can make Androns the toughest enemies in the game ... but we need something to represent incoming fire chipping away at their defences and making them less effective.
We might want a more interesting system for their armour than just a flat damage reduction.
They are robotic... what if their armor plates are mobile?
The more damage one (or the armor) takes, the more armor plates are shifted to the front, making it more vulnerable to flanking attacks.
Generic and random critical hits would be far less rewarding than giving the player a means to outmaneuver the big bad.
Maybe make their vision cone smaller when their armor is high, making it more doable to set up an ambush.
Another spin:
If they take (heavy?) damage, they instantly turn towards the attacker and go into turtle mode, turning into a heavily armored but largely immobile turret that can only shoot and walk forward.
Reconfiguring back to walking mode would take them a turn during which they can still only walk forward.
That would make them generally a bad target to engage at range because you'd either waste a whole lot of ammo on them or spread out your forces a lot to get some flanking action going.
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I'm a sucker for the "build your merc company" type of games, especially if they are open-ended.
Does it have to be one or the other?
So I imagine
- Run a mercenary company.
- Hire troops with greatly different backgrounds.
Can be anything from robots to aliens. - Troops gain some XP / advancement but not so much that they become completely different units.
That keeps some diversity in the game instead of every trooper being leveled up to Generic Super Soldier. - You can not bring everyone to a mission but you can "collect" a large variety of specialists for your company.
- A mission consists of a small strategic map with maybe 3-6 sub maps.
- Objectives that you complete in those sub maps affect adjacent maps, in some cases the entire strategic map, net you extra equipment, give your soldiers temporary bonuses, grant you bonus troops like freedom fighters (aka terrorists).
Some objectives (like robbing a bank =) just mean extra cash while others help you complete your main objective. - If you sneak through the "secondary" maps and beeline to the main objective... that's a viable strategy.
Depends on what kinds of troops you brought and if stealth is an option in the game.
That's where the proposed "alert" mechanic from your earlier design would be useful.
A secondary objective could be "no witnesses" or "remain unseen". - When you are selecting a mission you may see the strategic map but not see exactly what's in the submaps.
Maybe the briefing covers what is in the area but not where or how often. A bankinf district could have banks to rob in different sectors but each one you rob will spawn mercenaries / bounty hunters to come after you.
The briefing might mention a civil war on the planet. You start out hostile to both sides but if you complete 2 secondary objectives for one side you gain enough reputation with them to make them neutral. Depending on the objective that may or may not make the other side like you even less. - Different planets can have different environments.
A planet can still look "normal" (so it doesn't cost extra assets=) but have a toxic atmosphere, limiting the equipment you can carry because you need protective gear.
Gravity is also useful. Might limit the range of ballistic weapons and affect stamina drain - unless you use special gear like exoskeletons or fancy grav belts.
There's room for useful mercenry perks like being a heavy worlder or being a robot who doesn't need to breathe.
- Run a mercenary company.
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Progression could be supplied by installations that you conquer and that you can then do something with.
A network hub gives you a one-time ability to shut down enemy communications so you can conduct a raid and be sure that there will be no alert for the next minute or three.
Alternatively you can raise false alerts... elsewhere.
An ammo bunker helps with supply or can be blown up for a really really big explosion. (which would provide a good diversion and might get you rid of a pesky patrol)
A satellite uplink lets you mess with the enemy's GPS so their supporting artillery might cause quite a few blue-on-blue incidents before they notice it.
A marina might have a small submarine (because of reasons!) that lets you skip a sector or certain patrols.
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I also don't agree that the only way to make a sniper rifle viable is to give it a minimum range. Why can't it just be an accurate weapon that can only fire single shots, whereas assault rifles can burst fire but are less accurate? That'd naturally make assault rifles more useful at shorter range. Similarly shotguns can do a lot of damage, but be inaccurate. Pistols can fire much faster than sniper rifles when accuracy is not at such a premium, so sidearms are perfectly viable under the proposed system too.
In XCOM, the drawback of a sniper rifle (barring special skills) is that you can't move before shooting.
That neatly models that aiming a long rifle with a scope is generally slower.
I'm no great fan of the "first person aiming" but with the above mechanic,
- if you did not move this turn, you get to use the scope for aiming.
- if you moved, you are shooting the rifle from the hip (a scope often blocks the iron sights), aiming with an offset because you are not looking along the barrel.
Takes a lot more skill but if you are awesome, you can do it. The rifle is still as "accurate" as it normally is.
With just isometric gameplay, you wouldn't get the "scope bonus" if you had moved this turn.
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I still prefer the passive idea. I fundamentally don't like the idea that a commander tells the units to "run and gun" or whatever and they magically learn a new skill, which they promptly forget next turn. It's particularly jarring for me if the officer has a selection of different actions and they can telepathically upload whichever one best suits the situation into the brains of their underlings for a turn.
Not all kinds of effects / actions are suited for the telepathic upload system. =)
Some things that would work more like passive boni...
- Directing fire.
The officer "marks" one enemy for the squad to concentrate their fire on.
This gives them all an aim bonus (or less cover effect) against this particular enemy.
(Holo Targeting in XCOM...)
IMO this makes more sense than a passive bonus and since it's more limited, can be more powerful.
Whether it's too fiddly and unnecessarily slows down gameplay... hard to tell.
A passive aim bonus would always be a fallback option...
- Move!
Entire squad takes reduced damage from overwatch while changing position because they "move at the same time".
- Controlled bursts.
Firing a burst costs 1 less bullet.
Simplistic but it might be useful in the long run.
An officer granting other units special types of actions that they didn't have before... that's a bit weird.
Could it work, though? What kind of ability would make sense to be telepathically implanted? =)
- Coordination. It's what leaders do.
If the leader has the Coordination skill, underlings can click that skill to go into a waiting state.
They stay in that state until the leader clicks his Coordination skill.
Then all underlings get to move at the same time like for an ambush.
Naturally, that only works with an initiative system.
- Squad Sight - or a variation thereof.
Without a leader with this skill, every soldier is on his own.
With it, a soldier can aim an indirect fire weapon or target something with a direct fire weapon beyond his own vision range.
This bonus squad sight range would depend on the skill level of the leader, too.
- Directing fire.
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Perhaps I'll find myself hankering for TUs again after having done this next game, but after spending five years working with them on Xenonauts I've had my fill for the time being. Strategy games are fundamentally about making choices and simplifying the action system can actually increase the number of choices to be made.
Word!
IMO the perceived "TU issue" is actually something entirely different so I'm not posting it in the (rather one of the two =) "TU topics".
Movement under fire
XCOM feels so much like trench warfare because you simply can not afford to move out of cover.
The risk of getting 1/6 of your entire force instakilled is just not worth it.
What if you could?
Some possible approaches:
- Reaction fire does "stamina damage". Stamina replenishes from resting up and/or using your canteen.
Only if stamina is depleted, reaction fire does lasting damage.
That gives every soldier a limited "Lightning Reflexes" skill... at a cost.
Naturally, your bunch of hardcases can get skills to make their reaction fire killing shots. =)
It's kind of a "hit points auto regen" but for a very limited purpose.
- Suppression that works.
You suppress / grenade / flashbang the guy that obviously is on overwatch and you can leave cover to change position.
This may end up overpowered but it would allow combat to be more mobile in general.
- Smoke grenades that work.
They completely block LOS so you do have soft cover to change position.
- Reaction fire does "stamina damage". Stamina replenishes from resting up and/or using your canteen.
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[*]All enemy units may have a radio heartbeat that checks in every X turns. If the unit is dead at the time it is meant to check in, all enemy units activate.
That's like ancient X-COM's "cheat" mechanic of the aliens seeing you on turn 50 or somesuch.
How about... enemy soldiers can be observed to pull out their walkie talkie every few turns to give a status update.
(even JA2 has an animation for that =)
If you take out a soldier right after he radios in, you have have the largest time window to do some damage before someone in the comm shack tries to contact that soldier.
Different soldiers may be on different timers so if you want to set up the "perfect ambush" you have to coordinate it so that those time windows overlap in the best possible way.
That won't always be possible so you'll have to compromise on what positions you can and can not take out stealthily... and in which order.
Overall it would just be more interaction than a magical heartbeat sensor declaring you "spotted".
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the descision to implement the new XCOM tactical system straight up baffles me.
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- The move-action structure made the game an overwatch-trench-warfare-fest.
That has nothing to do with the move-action system.
Aliens (on higher diff levels) are accurate and will kill your soldiers if they don't stay in cover. If you try flanking then the tiny sight ranges in the game have you running into more swarms of aliens.
Just switching to micromanaged TU wouldn't change anything but... add more micromanagement.
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It is currently a mix of Jagged Alliance, Valkyria Chronicles and the new XCOM. The idea is currently to to use the smaller teams and simple, elegant mechanics of XCOM, but with the strategic elements (i.e a grid map) and deeper soldier customisation (weapon attachments / ammo types etc) of Jagged Alliance.
I like that.
Pick a scope and do it well. Trying to do too much (large teams and extensive customisation) only ends up in micromanagement hell. =)
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That's where my avatar is from. The Evil Alien Barn.
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Aliens can attack you without requiring LOS (with psionics) while you cannot fight back.
Arguably that's cheating but if you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough. =)
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Intention:
Create a plasma weapon that at least borderline resembles an actual plasma weapon.
The plasma blob supposedly cools while airborne so damage is reduced by distance.
If impacting on something, it transfers the heat and has a damage over time effect for 1-2 turns after.
Mechanics proposal:
Adjustable damage falloff over adjustable distance.
Damage over time component with adjustable % of initial impact damage and duration. Can be linear - no need to overcomplicate it.
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@ omglaserspewpew
You might like [MOD WIP] Asymmetric Weapons Tech with Plausible Advanced Ballistics.
While I would prefer something like this as part of the vanilla game, I also know that this would be a lot more effort to balance and Goldhawk doesn't have the manpower of a AAA developer.
Wish in one hand, spit in the other... =)
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Yeh, I'd personally have placed the mag a little further back but then again... it's just a bitmap.
You can change it if you don't like it. =)
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I don't think you hold it. You rather hold on to it. =P
But seriously - it's a basic bullpup design. A bit short for the off hand but workable. Perfectly justified by Rule Of Cool. =P
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I'm not saying that it's noticeably easier to evade a 1000m/s bullet at close range - this was just a possible way to differentiate weapon tiers with an explanation that would at least sound somewhat legit. =)
Another option would be that lasers have low spread when burst firing. Low recoil with this glorified flashlight.
Psychics?
in Xenonauts 2 Discussion / Suggestions
Posted
Psionic abilities all by themselves don't have to be "safe" for a human brain.
There might be a chance to take injuries (requiring heal time after the mission) or even permanent stat damage.
Abilities can allowed to be cool... if they have adequate balancing effects. =)