Planetus

I love this idea, and think it would be awesome. Bring in facility raids as well, so players can do building raids smaller and less alien than Alien Base raids, maybe with a mix of aliens and human cooperatives, all hostiles.

I've been suspecting this was happening for a while now, but I just managed to confirm it 100%. When a soldier is hiding around a corner from the enemy, that corner counts as 100% block for that soldier shooting the enemy. The same enemy can shoot the soldier (don't know if there's any block) without moving, however. This makes no sense to me. As a clearer explanation, see below: X-Xenonaut A-Alien. The alien hit my soldier no problem without moving, while my soldier couldn't even target the alien. X|__________________ A

I love the direction this is going! I'm very happy to see that the scientist won't be the only voice. As an engineer myself, I frequently wanted to punch him in the face. If the engineering team has their own voice, and there's back and forth between the two, it'll be a LOT more entertaining. I love the strategy direction this is going and I'm excited to see the new overworld issues, the research and development complexity, etc. I would like to suggest giving your character art a little more attitude, though. Honestly, this was my biggest issue with the soldiers in X1. They all looked very plain and not in a natural pose at all. The soldier could be excused for just being at attention or at ease. The scientist looks like he has some personality. The Chief of Operations, though, looks very boring. She'd be better if she had her arms crossed and her weight on one hip, like she's standing and listening to someone, prepared to explain why exactly they're wrong in everything they just said and what they should do instead. 3D art, honestly, isn't going to excite me too much. I was fine with the art for the combat that already existed. The greater access to modding, however, will be wonderful! Looking forward to hearing and seeing more.

I've noticed that as well, and I posted a bug report about it a little while ago, but I didn't notice the armor my unit was wearing. It may well have been wolf armor, but I'm not sure.

Given the massive weight and the fixed TU cost of reload, I don't see the user as a stationary turret, but rather a one-shot option. There's no point in carrying any more ammo since you can't use it even with a full turn. Better to carry a secondary weapon and ditch the Cannon once it's expended. Which stinks.

Just completed this mission with a squad full of grenadiers. Wow did those grenades make this easier. Only one soldier even got hurt and that was from an invisible sebillian who threw a grenade back at me (should have expected that). Smoke grenades cut down on the enemy fire almost entirely (while not functionally impacting your accuracy in throwing grenades) and mind-controlled soldiers won't attack if there isn't a weapon in their hand. Add in everyone having shields and each person can take a couple of good hits without any damage at all. That being said, the bugs involving enemy psi strength, enemy squad sight seeing through walls (so there's no protection from psi attacks), and invisible enemies make this battle more annoying than challenging. Add in the very simple map and it's not nearly as climactic as I had hoped. Also, the way the mission description is written, I thought destroying the generators and killing the Praetor was an either/or choice. Either one will give you victory, but destroying the generators means you'll have to escape in time or something. I second the call for alternate win screens based on performance, too, with a special screen if all your men make it out alive. Oh, and I'd also like to see more variety to the aliens in the final mission. At least three Praetors, one High Praetor with two flunkies, probably some Wraiths (they're supposed to be elites, right?) and maybe a few Harridians instead of the Caesan snipers.

Ok, just tried the Singularity Cannon. It's awesomely powerful but even with 100 Str (I think that's the max, right?) using Predator armor, just carrying the weapon itself reduces my available TUs to such a point that I couldn't reload it even if I HAD more ammo. I've only got 48 TUs, but weapons_gc.xml says it takes 60 to reload.

I've seen it again, and this time I bothered to get a screenshot with proof. The red tile cursor indicates an enemy, and the middle red enemy marker on the right brings me to that spot (no others are even in the same room), and last turn there was a sebillian who threw a grenade at me from there. In other words, there's an enemy there but he's invisible. [ATTACH=CONFIG]Invisible Enemy[/ATTACH]

I've only seen this with Androns, and yes, they were all with half-walls that my own characters (except shield wielders and Predator wearers) can vault over.

I've seen an aweful lot of 95% accuracy shots miss completely in long chains. I haven't been too careful to observe about the angle, but it seems more common on higher-armor enemies (and no this isn't veteran, but it seems to me that armor should provoke Resist, not Miss). Almost all of these were with no obstacles, as I typically avoid shooting past those with anything other than a machine gun.

As for balance, I fully agree that all of these would need balancing. Limitations to Predator armor and high TU costs were intended for this, but also things like limited range and removing 100% accuracy would fall under this category. I don't really see any of these as an 'I win' button. The small graviton array would basically be an upgraded missile launcher, like the singularity cannon, but able to shoot through walls. Not SEE through walls, mind you, so you still need someone to risk themselves to get sight on the target, but shoot through walls anyway. And, being an explosive, it would destroy any loot. The large graviton array was intended as a sort of a cross between a torpedo and a cannon. No chance to intercept/dodge and multiple (if limited) shots like the cannon, but a torpedo hardpoint and higher damage like a torpedo, with probably a long time between shots (not nearly as quick as a cannon). The psycho-jammer would primarily be used as a tactical, "Ok, for the next X turns I don't have to worry about dread, mind control, berserk, etc, but when should I spend those X turns" combined with a lore-inspired but probably not too useful disabling of minion enemies that either are encountered before the critical turns, aren't in this mission anyway because it's the wrong races, or aren't in this mission anyway because all the enemies are too high a rank (from what I can tell by looking at armor, at least). The limited turns and probably limited movement speed of the electro-static micrite cloud would limit it's usefulness substantially, but it could be used to attack around corners if you were careful about when you played it. It was inspired by a kind of combination of drones, blaster bombs, and stun grenades. I was primarily thinking of the hyperspace grenade launcher as a way to reinforce the use of grenades later into the game. The damage done by fusion grenades and the tactical usefulness of smoke and stun gas grenades are still things I value even in the end mission, but the high time they take to use and the very limited range significantly nerfs them. This tool was intended to completely remove the limitation of range and accuracy, allowing one or two soldiers in the background to launch grenades anywhere they wanted, but between the consumption of grenades and the possible limits of them due to a heavy weapon could keep this from being a primary attack tool. Add in the tactical use of placing a smoke or sun-gas grenade anywhere you want any turn, or launching flares anywhere, and it seems to me this would be a useful but not over-powered tool. As for the flying suits, the only advantage I see to ending a turn in the air is that you're immune to reapers. Other than that, it means you have no protection from shots (kneeling, being behind a partial barrier, etc) and are probably exposed to more aliens. I haven't actually tried the singularity cannon yet, but it seems to me like it's basically a high upgrade to the rocket launcher.

I like Xenomorph's idea, and I love the idea of a partial save whenever possible. In this game, I think all psionic powers could use partial saves with impacts on TUs, so a berserk/paniced/mind controlled character with a 70% save (meaning failed by 30%), they should only loose 30% of their TUs, and a mind-controlled character should then become a player character again after those TU are spent (so it looks like berserk where the character acts on it's own and is then yours again, but the character is more tactical in it's actions).

I second the call for engineer comments. As an engineer myself, I can tell you that any lead scientist who regularly commented like that would not survive long. At the very least, the 'prank' shown in the Reaper research entry (the coffee machine right next to the containment tank) would be a minor one, unless the engineers can see it as a two-sided thing.

I'm rather disappointed with the end-game weapon selection when compared to the inspiration for this game: X-COM. X-COM introduced some late-game options that weren't just more powerful of the same against more powerful armor of the same, but introduced new mechanics. Things like the Avenger, which could not only shoot down just about ANYTHING, but also IMMEDIATELY land and assault it, like the flying suit and flying tank, where you could actually hover in the air and shoot things (I'd LOVE to see mid-air shooting and turn-ending added to the Sentinel armor), or like a multi-explosive, guided projective in the famous Blaster-Bomb Launcher! Am I alone in thinking that late-game weapons should do more than just add damage? Ok, I realize it's probably too late to get anything this drastic changed in the game, but I'd like to throw these ideas out and get them critiqued anyway: Small and Large Graviton Arrays: These weapons utilize an array of dozens of graviton emitters angled on servo-motorized joints which allow the emitted gravitons to converge at a single point at any range, through any material, with 100% accuracy due to the complex computerized targeting system. The resulting convergence of gravitons causes a massive increase in local gravity, upwards of 1000%, but only for a fraction of a second, resulting not in a sustained high-gravity field, but rather a sudden gravitational compression wave which can disrupt the functioning of any system the convergence occurs within, be it electronic, mechanical, or organic. Additionally, the sudden release of the compressed material causes a localized explosion-like compression wave, dealing high damage to all targets within range. The small graviton array is a massive infantry weapon, only usable in conjunction with the Predator armor, and uses massive power with every use, requiring reloading after every shot. Additionally, the complex targeting system requires considerable time to lock onto coordinates (90-100% TU, with reloading costing more than the remaining TU), and the whole system's weight is a considerable burden. The large graviton array is an aircraft-mounted system heavy enough to require a heavy-missle hardpoint connection, but allowing up to 10 shots. (Maybe limit range as gravitons verge off course over distance, maybe make only the distance 100%, and the shooter still needs to aim correctly?) Hyperspace Grenade Launcher: This heavy and complex weapon uses a miniaturized hyperspace engine to teleport the contained grenade to any target location within a large range, regardless of intervening material and with 100% accuracy. The power used in each shot is fed by a super-conducting alien alloy capacitor loop powered up in our base from a captured singularity core (power charges have to be manufactured, but some number can be made from each singularity core). The power drain is such that each capacitor can only feed one use. The strategic and tactical changes this weapon can bring to the battlefield are massive, as any type of grenade can be fired to any spot in range from anywhere, regardless of line-of-sight or cover, however the weight of this complex system is such that only a soldier augmented by the Predator armor can lift it. (Maybe limit range, and again I'm imagining a massive TU use to fire and reload, requiring separate turns for the two actions.) Electro-Static Micrite Cloud: This seemingly simple hand-held device emits a cloud of very simple pollen-sized machines developed through our miniaturization of alien technology. Each machine in the cloud, which I have named a Micrite due to their microscopic size, can self-maneuver using tiny fans and can collect static electricity from the atmosphere. The controller can use the hand-held device to steer the cloud through the air, and any enemy caught in it will trigger a discharge of the accumulated static electricity. While the static charge rebuilds quickly, the tiny size of these machines limits the power source in each, so the cloud as a whole will only function for a limited time (several turns) and the lack of any feedback means the controller must maintain line-of-site with the cloud or attempt flying it blind (which should be possible, but running into walls should dissipate the cloud). This is effectively a remote-controlled, reusable EM grenade. EM Wave Shield: Through the use of alien alloy superconductors and the recent developments in micro-power sources, it is now possible to generate a localized planar electromagnetic field capable of effectively dissipating any plasma coming in contact with it. This device has been fitted into a simple shield that can be wielded by any soldier to block incoming alien attacks. While each impact of plasma will drain some charge from the shield, the device can be recharged through a standard plasma power-pack. (Basically, a rechargeable shield.) Psycho-Jammer: This landing craft-mounted device can be triggered at any time in combat to release a massive burst of radio energy in the range used by alien telepathy. This effectively 'jams' all telepathic activity in the area for some time (certain number of turns). The effect of this will both block telepathic attacks (with more complex attacks like mind control maybe taking more time to recuperate) and disrupt alien communications, resulting in telepathically-controlled drone-type enemies (most caesans, probably most harridians, maybe even wraiths) becoming completely passive and inactive for a time (not KO-ed, they just won't do anything). However, the intense power required to overwhelm 'natural' telepathy will completely drain the battery, meaning the device will have to be recharged at base after every use. Any comments? Any other ideas? Any chance at all any of these maybe make it in? Any chance a more skilled modder could make these?

I loved how heavily damage UFOs could have walls and ceilings missing in the original X-COM, so my units could get in more easily and shoot at enemies without opening the only doors. I'm missing this a lot in the new game.