Xenonauts 2: Base Mechanics

[Komandos]

If an alien invasion is a global campaign against humanity, then the sense of building small bases (to counter a global invasion) violates the logic of a global war. In the X-COM game, the purpose of the bases was to keep secrets from humanity itself (since the alien invasions were targeted actions, not a global war).

[Alienkiller]

I play UFO 2 ET since last Year and there the Devs integrated new Features too, which wasn´t possible until the first new XCOM came up.

There the secondary Landbases / later after Research mobile Bases are the extra Eyes for your Main-Base. That Secondary-Bases are still Expensive, but have very good Limiters. There you can build up following:

1. Radar and Radar-Upgrades

2. Workshops

3. Defense-Turrets

4. Hangars for Fighters (Helicopter, Pursuit Planes, Interceptors)

5. Power Station

That´s not the End yet, because the biggest Change to UFO 1 ET Standard / Gold is that you have Workshops for the Secondary-Bases now. We will see what the Refit from UFO 1 ET to Platinium will bring us in more Features and the DLC for UFO 2 ET. But more then such Outposts the Secondary Bases aren´t.

The Main-Work get done in your Main-Base [Research, Personal-Management, Development, Infantry-Missions and so on]. There you have your Personal [expect the needed Personal on the Secondary-Bases wich you don´t see] to get it working.

 

Means:

In all such Games of that Gerne you have to whatch for your Costs every Month, which means if you are in red Numbers 2 or 3 Monthes, you are Jobless. The Country-Founders alone won´t cover it with the Founding-Money and that with the double of the Standard-Income.

That´s why for secondary Bases less is more. Either we make such Limits in the Game like it´s done in UFO-ET-Row or we make them as small Outposts with Science-Hangars and Storages (like it´s doable in UFO:AI) where Engeneers and Scientists work together and 2 to 3 extra Hangars for Fighters with a small Defense and Radar- / Scanner.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Alienkiller

[Krydax]

My suggestion after playing the demo:

Make building multiple structures at the same time penalize build time, but not to the full ratio, as well as an overall reduction to the "normal" build times.. Let me explain what I mean and then I will explain the benefits.

These numbers are purely for example's sake:

Building 1 building goes at 100% rate (total work rate of 100%)
Building 2 buildings goes at 65% rate (total work rate of 130%, each building individually would take ~54% longer)
Building 3 buildings at once goes to 50% rate (overall rate of 150%, each building taking 100% longer)
Building 4 buildings at once goes to 40% rate (overall rate of 160%, each building taking 150% longer)
Building 5 buildings at once goes to 35% rate (overall rate of 175%, each building taking ~186% longer)

Current mechanics are as follows:
Building 1 building: 100% rate
Building 2 buildings: 100% rate, total work rate of 200%
Building 3 buildings: 100% rate, total work rate of 300%
Building 4 buildings: 100% rate, total work rate of 400%.

With the above, you can see how the current mechanics are kinda busted and extremely heavily favor building multiple buildings at once. With my idea for a changed system, buildings would have build times reduced across the board, but there would be penalties to building multiple buildings at once.

NOW you have a trade-off! Build 1 at a time, you get the benefits sooner, but your overall work rate is a BIT lower. Build multiples at a time, and your overall work rate is higher, thus being more efficient, but it takes longer before you see any individual benefits from your buildings. My numbers are purely for conceptual example, and can/would be tweaked. But I believe an idea like this will make the base construction far more strategic and interesting. Rather than what it is right now, which is simply "If you have money, build it ASAP. # of projects concurrent doesn't matter"

[MARSHalMELLOW]

Will the Missile base defence Structure be a starting structure in final release, following reading the missile research lore. Starting it as some kind of AAA initially like the interceptors, with missile upgrades coming with the Missile tech, Crafting the Aircraft variants used as a resource to Upgrade each Defence structure. 

[MARSHalMELLOW]

My consideration for Living Quarters:

 Each Barracks has far more beds than the allocation  

• Matching the bed slots to the Occupied/ capacity would reduce the clutter, by removing half of the beds, making it look like a barracks, then include in the space created an indoor shooting range, as you add barracks in a row it lengthens the Shooting range, effectively levelling up training effects. Adding different layouts and betting for different jobs, Blue bedsheets and a Desk under the bunk and neater layout for scientists, Yellow for engineers with a full length locker at the bottom of the bed.
• Removing walls between adjacent matching rooms to make a more fluid structure when both rooms are the same.

  Adds 5% Pistol accuracy and Shotgun accuracy  Adds Assault rifle and H.EV.Y. 

 Adding Bonuses for Snipers and LMG.

• Pairing Storage with a mess Hall trains Bravery when Connected to Barracks as they share war stories over lunch. 
• Storage Could be set up to allow space for Fork lifts and Pallets and speed up Reloading of aircrafts and AA structures when connected.
• Workshops Connected to Hangars should improve repair time.
• Workshops connected to Stores should improve fabrication time.
• Medical near Labs improves recovery time due to proximity of doctors.
• Civilians in the base, Engineers/ scientists that could be in danger in base attacks, with a bunker structure for captured aliens and Civilians.

 

[Alienkiller]

@MARSHalMELLOW: Your Ideas are very nice, but sadly I have to say, that they aren´t portable. The Problem is the linking from all that like you suggest. If you can manage 20% from that, you can be proud.

We Beta-Testers from the Beginning on have similar Ideas, which we have discussed a lot. And we come to an much easyer Idea, which isn´t new and shown in XCOM 2 the first time. And we could test them already in the first Betas with the Xenonauts Ant-Base.

Not used or too much Scientists / Engeneers can be assigend to such Buildings to improve Weapons, Repair- and Reload-Times, making Improvements to the Buildings / Weapons etc. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Alienkiller