zakalwe

In response to the point above and the discussion of a timebomb mechanic. I thought this was a good point. I have read the discussions on the idea of a self-destruct mechanic which is really the same kind of idea and had a couple of thoughts. I really like the potential for missions to 'go Iceland' in some way. I think in many ways the self destruct idea is maybe better than limiting it to scout craft that you overkilled. Thinking about what happens to shot down craft at the moment. You have to intercept the crash site, and if you don't it disappears after a while, presumably incurring some kind of nation penalty in the background. What about introducing a timer for crash sites that starts when you shoot something down. resolves in either an explosion, severity depending on the craft, or rescue/recovery by alien forces (a slightly less bad outcome which at least gives a narrative explanation to the nation penalty) Overkill becomes more important, as damaged craft will give less time for the player to intercept them. Heavily damaged craft become ticking Icelands, if a power cores is damaged, it must be 'diffused' in a set time or they will go critical. You don't necessarily arrive 'just in time' to diffuse it, (unless you actually do) but if you don't deal with it no one else will and it will blow, giving you the more severe penalty to nation score. How do your troops possess the ability to diffuse an alien power core or self destruct device, surely if you can research alien technology it and use it to fabricate new weapons, (which is also movie magic) you could diffuse a broken one. There is a recovery mechanic for alien bodies, but none for alien craft. I find the overkill mechanic kind of annoying at the moment, but if it was a question of collecting intact alien craft for research and repair (for use for late/final game?, Orbital Interception?) that would be awesome. I do really like the idea of a self destruct mechanic though and would be happy to settle for that. The last ai or 2 should try to make a break for the red button. It seems it would solve tedium of hunting down any stragglers in repeated similar missions. Given that the game is structured around escalating difficulty in the 3 layers of the geoscape, ground and air. This time sensitive pressure could create a dynamic that adds strategic depth through the three layers. For the early game: Iceland showed that Aliens have the power to self destruct their craft with devasting results. However, a scout craft could be, for game purposes, way less devasting than TBA advanced craft. At the moment the first week or two of the game is spent shooting down nerfed speed scouts. How about a mission somewhere in that period where aliens are guaranteed to activate a self destruct to introduce the mechanic. There is a small explosion, then you must research the self destruct sequence/land an intact alien craft or even unlock through interrogation? For midgame/late: As alien threat escalates, self-destructs become more severe, damaged cores could appear like as terror events. Local forces down UFO with nuke/Airliner Collision etc. I think that a time sensitive mission type would add diversity, and be an easier addition/mod if any kind of self-destruct mechanic was added. Anyway. Out on all kinds of limbs here. Cheers all for feedback. Really liked: Hold off attack on power station/ reactor/ hospital etc A few of things on Thothkins list are in right? Alien Bases are for sure I thought? Actually is there a current list of confirmed features for beta?

What I was suggesting with the supply network really was just a different type of mission scenario, say you have a map with two intact ships and a bunch of aliens standing around in the desert or something, rather than just the usual hunt and kill all situation, which is fun and all, but why not add depth with an optional interrogation dynamic, where you can capture and interrogate aliens progressively. Missions generated from interrogations seemed the best incentive for that. To be honest bonuses like +25 Radar coverage over a week I agree would not be as good as a mission type based on intel from captured aliens. Permanent bonuses would be good,You could also imagine capture and interrogations similar to a tech tree. In terms of adhering to plausibility, in any kind of war intelligence plays a critical role, so sometimes do the actions of individuals, and so to random, unpredictable accidents. In the context of the game, we have to accept that the aliens are wildly more powerful but not invincible, or immune to the rules of chance and bad judgement. For me its a bigger stretch to accept that everything possible about alien biology, language, society, history, etc can be uncovered using just one corpse and one live specimen. Hell I would be happy with just some more unlocked text/backstory to read for my troubles. Or a zoo/trophy panel in the base where they are all kept and I can sell them to unscrupulous corporations and governments.

What about bonus type missions derived from alien interrogations? At the moment you only really need to get one of each type of alien. Its quite fun bagging them, but no point. Maybe captured aliens could be interrogated. Subect #2419 Report. During before expiring, interrogation subject revealed intelligence linked to: Alien Supply Network Mission: Hit the aliens by surprise during a refueling/landing operation. Lots of alien equipment Alien Infiltration Mission: Assassinate Alien controlled clone/mc'd politician or general undermining support for xenonaughts. Small team, maintain stealth or big penalty to a nations score. Success = Bonus to funding from that region. or Alien Jamming Frequencies +25% radar coverage for 1 week Alien Shield Cycles +25% damage to aircraft for 1 week Terror Intelligence 3 days warning before next attack

I haven't played EU, guessing the diffusal ideas in there?

I like the arrival idea, like your not the only one intercept the crashsite. You could mix it up by having a rogue government or criminal syndicate arrive to try and secure the alien technology. 3 way gun battle between the hostile force, xenonuats and aliens trying to rescue their buddies. I thought maybe a tower level could be cool, nothing is being made of the height dynamic at the moment, a tower mission where a scout has crashed into a skycraper and you have to work your way up in an enclosed space might be cool. Lots of fire hazard! and smoke.

Hey guys, Been playing the alpha and lurking on the forums and thought I would post an idea. Apologies if its been floated before. One thing that occurred to me playing the alpha was the lack of diversity and mission goals. I know we are likely to see improvements in Terror missions and base assaults, but was thinking that maybe a few other kinds of mission might add to the game. My suggestion is that in missions where alien craft have sustained catastrophic damage in the crash there is now a potential for these missions to become power core diffusal missions. Xenonauts are briefed on arrival that the power core in the craft is in danger of going critical, and that they have say, 15 turns to diffuse it before it blows. This would create a rush to secure the craft asap, and encourage more risky behaviour as players are forced to weigh the danger of waiting to kill nearby aliens with the need to breach the craft with a small team. TENSION! This would be easy to explain narratively as well, as either a damaged core going critical, or maybe as a self destruct option initiated to avoid capture. IF players fail to disarm the device, there could be a large explosion on the map itself, a failure of the mission as the area is destroyed, or a 'evacuate NOW' order (say 8-10 turns) after the point of no return has been passed and xenonauts flee to the dropship to escape the explosion, with an associated penalty to nation score for failure. Success in the mission would lead to a repaired power generator that would otherwise not have been salvageable. Potential items added could involve a diffusal kit and possibly a fire extinguisher to allow quick entry to ships that are blocked by fire. This could be a later game mission for the larger craft, or something the ai throws your way if you look like you are coasting. Apologies if the idea has been floated before, had a look but couldn't see anything on it. Do post any ideas for other mission types.

I am on Xp and apart from the ghost civies and the crash with the new farm maps its been way more stable for me so far. I seem to have got the personnel hiring thing now as well though. Is there anyone else whos having the farm bug as well and might know how to take the map out of the cycle?

I can confirm the invisible civilians bug and the crash on a farm tileset bug. The farm crash happens every time a few seconds into hidden movement. The industrial maps also have no buildings for me, so just large grey ground with occasional islands of barrels. One of these barrel island also had a teleporter on it which seemed a bit odd. But the saves are working again which is great.

Hey guys, Played the demo alot then got the Premium Alpha. Great game but I am having this problem with about 2/3 of saves corrupt ( I made 20+ for first month as backups) that just CTD when I try to load them. I have been using the start a new game then place base and load trick and have been able to load a few saves from september this way. Everything beyond 1st October (Game time) is totally broken for me (5+ saves over about 4 days in game). Would trying the standalone files mentioned in the other posts help? I am loading from Desura, vi 5.1 (21st Sept) but thought I might try anything else in case there is a more stable version for this problem. With other random CTDs going on its difficult to progress/play the game. Especially with autosaves broken as well. I might try iron man mode to see if that works better. Thanks for great game, know the beta is coming so maybe I just have to hang on a few more days and all will be resolved. Can post saves or logs if you need for debug.