mrChips

Congratulations guys. The game now looks very polished and this build definitely seems like a big milestone. The smaller light scout maps and faster AI turns in particular drastically improve the pacing of the early game. The month 1 crash sites feel much less of a chore now. The game as a whole feels very complete, and the balance is pretty tight now.

I've been thinking the game needs something along these lines. The day/night cycle should have meaning and it's a good thing that the night missions are harder, scarier and more atmospheric. That said, in the game I am a military commander with legions of scientists and engineers at my disposal who can build a supersonic fighter jet out of bits of scrap metal in a matter of days. I should have some ability to address the obvious tactical advantage the aliens have in being able to see in the dark. I would propose several tiers of items of increasing effectiveness unlocked through researching techs in the early, mid and late game. Tier 1: Flare gun - fires a single flare for 20/30/40 TU or a burst of three for 40TU, out slightly further than they can be thrown. 3x2 size one-handed weapon, must be reloaded, ammo clips are size one and hold 3 flares. Abject accuracy. Maybe a direct hit to an alien sets them on fire for lulz. Hunter armoured cars receive a flare gun with, say, 12 flares when the tech has been researched (they have what look like smoke canister launchers on the model already, maybe these could be removed and added back when you get the tech). Tier 2: Infrared scanner - One handed item, 2x2 size. When equipped, marks tiles as containing an alien or neutral unit (but doesn't show their model or give you other information that can be used to identify their type or facing) out to a distance halfway between the current nighttime and daytime view distances, within the soldiers usual FOV angle accounting for armour. Still subject to line-of-sight, and does not reveal terrain. Some late-game aliens may not be visible in infrared. Advanced xenonaut vehicles get infrared scanners when the tech is researched. Tier 3: Nightvision scope - gives the soldier daytime view distance but restricts their FOV to be slightly narrower than they get from Jackal armour. Not sure how this should be equipped - perhaps everyone has it and consumes a battery from their inventory to activate it for 2-3 turns, perhaps it applies only to sniper-type weapons, or perhaps soldiers could get a head slot so we have to trade off vs additional protection from a helmet. As someone suggested above, it doesn't play nicely with flares and and soldiers with a nightvision scope get an aim penalty against targets illuminated by a flare or a fire.