Base expansion/maps/missions/items?

[Radradrobot]

Could bases be expanded?  If there are multiple types of missions could there be objectives to acquire needs for unlocking bigger square footage for base?

You could have missions to secure maps that might be military/construction/radar related.  Find military logistics offices for better equipment/tech/research/personnel needed to rescue for handling bigger bases.  Radar installations for increased detction of ufos/bases?  Maybe they decrease interference or just radar arrays on a hill far from your base?  Armored construction battalions for actually building your bigger bases.  Medical facilities/equipment/specialist for larger personal requirements.

These bases need to be defended via readiness lvls, response teams, patrols, or just bring said equipment back from ground maps for easy of implementation.  Bringing equipment back could open up guard convoy missions.  Convoy stopped on road for cover with a few armor pieces, and troops.  Maybe airstrikes for heavy alien armor/personnel groupings.

Ground missions on these and other geo maps could spawn different objectives/bonus finds:

Deploy troops around chopper.  Similar to how aliens are spread around map in xenonauts 1.

• You could find bases free from harm.  Just need to explore certain points and hold them or clear all the map?

• You could find empty base then get attacked from aliens which followed your chopper to site.  Similar to how all xenonauts 1 missions start.

• You could find scavenged mapped.  No aliens/aliens already there/show up later.  Low chance for extra loot.

• Chance to find unique items for one time items that can be lost if not grabbed at end of map if you have to abandon mission, and wielded characters goes down.  Like a heavy gatlling gun that scientists/mechanics work to develop the gun your heavy weapons guys wield.  This could lead to inspiration in scientists for alien inspirered unique items from downed alien craft/bases raided.  Also, could upgrade those unique items with tech trees.  Just one more science branch.  Exosuit for increased strength and tu’s.  10%-20% increase in one or both.  This doesn’t allow those stats to increase due to the suit taking the load?  Moded weapons found that give better stats than base/upgraded one?  Been watching escape from tarkov.  Moded weapons that look like those.  

• Specialists found and rescued to take back to base or other missions. Etc on other unique items.

 

Penny for your thoughts to make these ideas better.  If they’re even plosible

Edited February 19, 2018 by Radradrobot

[Chris]

On 2/17/2018 at 6:42 AM, Radradrobot said:

*snip*

Bases have been expanded in Xenonauts-2, but in a somewhat different way to what you've suggested. What you're suggesting sounds cool but it would be more appropriate for an exploration game, like if you were a team of human soldiers who landed on an alien planet where all the original inhabitants had been wiped out and had left a bunch of advanced tech you could find and recover... which is a cool idea but not what we're making right now.

The new set-up is basically that you have a single off-map base that houses all your staff and buildings, and then you have three airbases on the Geoscape that each cover two regions (you can purchase hangars, interceptors and radars at these airbases).

The main base is going to be more detailed that the one in Xenonauts 1 - the plan is that you're not just managing your living space and making sure you've got enough labs and workshops for your scientists and engineers, but will have a few additional systems to manage.

• Power - each building needs a certain amount of power to activate, so if you've not got enough generators or reactors then you can't use all your base structures.
• Base Stores - we'll probably move back to having limited storage space in a base, and you can build additional storerooms to get more.
• Base Comfort - soldiers accumulate mental stress when they go on a mission and comfort controls the stress recovery rate.
• Readiness - your dropship also needs a certain amount of maintenance to keep flying; if your Readiness is too low then you can't launch a ground mission. You *can* fly multiple missions in quick succession (even on the same day) if your Readiness is high enough, but this may then leave you unable to respond to further alien attacks. Readiness regeneration can potentially be increased through base structures.
• Defences - everyone loves a good sentry gun, and we are currently in the process of implementing them for the base defence missions. Not yet sure whether building these will be engineering projects, or whether a base structure will grant you X turrets on a base defence mission.

The other important change is that the base is now viewed from the side rather than from above - as we've moved the focus towards characters, it's important to see who is assigned to a room and that is better done from the side than from above (plus rooms also look nicer side-on than from above).

In terms of controlling the expansion of the base - at the moment the whole base is available for construction right from the start of the game. We'll limit access in some way before the final game ships, the simplest solution being making the player clear debris or build an access lift to get to a room / level. I'm also toying with the idea of having the lower layers of your base sealed off and infested with Reapers, making you fight increasingly difficult combat missions to clear them out and unlock them for construction ... but whilst that is potentially awesome, it's also potentially too ridiculous to put in the game. Guess I'll worry about balancing the base expansion later though, I've got bigger things to worry about at the moment!