APC's

[Target1805]

Don't know if they are in the game later but it would be cool if you could land a APC to cover ground quickly without dying & maybe hope it doesn't get destroyed on the way with your guys in it or maybe even Motorbike type transport or even the jeep with a bigger gun that needs xenonaughts to use.

I presume a Chinook couldn't carrying an APC but maybe one of the bigger/researched transports could.

[Gorlom]

Sounds boring to me

Aside from being cool how would it enhance gameplay? How would you balance it so that it is not destroying the flow or the atmosphere of the game?

Personally I don't see the point of it

[Voidfoam]

I can understand the wish to protect your troops. But reading the Icland incident novella and the effects of Alien weaponry upon main battle tanks i wouldn't recommend driving APC:s in street combat with such an opponent. APC are actually mostly used too transport troops quickly in wide open areas while protecting them from shrapnel and small arms fire. The combat in Xenonauts is small squads in small mostly crowded and dense areas.

And from a gameplay perspective i am of the same opinion as Gorlom. I don't really see how an APC would add to the games atmosphere. The maps aren't big enough. Are you gonna load troops up drive two streets and then unload? It would feel "crowded" with troop carriers on such small maps. Jeeps with visible crews would also make a lot of sprite rendering for little gain.

[Vivisector 9999]

Some balancing things would be noise - the aliens might hear a vehicle coming. There's also the threat of it getting blown up with your squad still inside. Nor could it go into buildings easily. And you'd have to buy it as well, much like the tank drones.

That said, I would also agree that an APC wouldn't fit, either from a realism or gameplay perspective. I picture soldiers using APCs to move between hotspots in a larger warzone. But Xenonaut missions are more delicate than that, more akin to SWAT/anti-terror operations that only involve a city block at worst. Once on site, the Xenonauts only have a few buildings to search and they need to be able to move freely indoors, so an APC would be of limited use.

[Gauddlike]

The APC would be more likely to replace the Chinook on the map.

Your team gets dropped at a safe distance by air then travels the remaining distance by APC.

Not really needed and just as much work as aircraft sprites.

[thothkins]

Much like Gauddlike, it would really get in the way on the map and would have to essentially replace the Chinook.

Now, it could be something as slender as a tank, so that you could cover all of the ground right up to the door of the UFO.

However, I'd want to then see the aliens have hoverdiscs or vehicles of their own, not to mention that their weapons may well cut through the vehicle like knives through butter.