GizmoGomez Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 So, I saw a post that mentioned escort missions, and it got me thinking: How could there be a system to order civvies around? Get them out of your hair, save them from being cut down in a crossfire, etc. I thought of one, and instead of posting it all to that same thread (where it wasn't entirely on topic) I decided to post it here. So, the commands would all involve the civvies going "somewhere else", whether it be in a direction for a distance (think vectors, direction and magnitude), to a point (like our troops are controlled, by clicking the destination), to the chopper, or whatever. Once a command was issued, the civilian would have a % chance to follow the order, otherwise they would ignore it (if the % chance fails horribly, they could even become panicked or something). Morale would play a part in that % chance, so how you are doing in the match, what ranked officers are present, etc (normal morale stuff) would play a part in how cooperative they are. The system I had in mind for the soldiers actually issuing the commands could be put into/assigned to a "weapon/item," like a megaphone.(This would eliminate the need for the devs to add a new universal action that troops can do. I think it would be simpler.) The megaphone could be more effective the higher the rank of the user is, meaning that if a major issued a command, the % chance for them to follow the command would be better than if a rookie gave the order. Another bonus with giving orders requiring an item, is that not everyone could give orders whenever they wanted, making it more of a specialized role that really requires you to want/need to have the civilian move. This is because you would need to switch your weapon to the megaphone to use it. That way it could be somewhat auto-balencing, meaning you couldn't just issue orders willy nilly. As for the actual command system (like, what the orders consist of and how you give them), I have 2 ideas. The first (I'm calling it the Vector method) could be something like: use megaphone, click on civilian, pick a direction (north, NE, east, SE, south, etc.), then choose how many steps/squares to move (1 step, 5, 10, or all their TUs will allow.) So, "head north for 5 steps" would be the idea. If they ran into something/someone while moving they would just stop. Another way to issue orders (I'm calling this the "Pick a Destination" method) could be: use megaphone, click target, then click where you want them to go (basically just like how you would control your own troops). There would (obviously) be a limit to how far they can go, based on TUs. (They would probably have less TUs than Xenonauts, but now that I think about it civvies may already have TUs incorporated, seeing as they move around and do stuff.) Either way the orders work, there could (maybe should) also be a "Hide" button (stay away from enemies, find a corner out of the way and sit there) and a "Get to da choppa!" button, where they would head in the direction of the chinook, until they arrived (I haven't figured out where they would be in relation to the chopper once they arrived. Maybe they could just be "hiding underneath the belly", and simply vanish. Otherwise, they could block motion around the chinook, and that would be bad.) This could get them out of the way of the firefights, and maybe even allow them to be brought with you if decide to abort the mission and high tail it outta there (leading to less points lost for civilians killed. Maybe positive points even, for saving them.) Using the megaphone would use up TUs, like a regular item. There could be more TUs required for the more precise "Vector" or "Pick a Destination" commands, whereas the "Hide" or "Get to da choppa!" commands could require less TUs, as they would require less time to say. I really have no idea if this could even be implemented, and am not really expecting it. I just think that it could add a very interesting and potentially very useful facet to gameplay. Please comment on how good an idea you think it is, and please explain why you think so. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacobandit Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Except that Civilians aren't going to be calm citizens once you get there; if they were, they wouldn't be standing near a UFO like blimey idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GizmoGomez Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 I know that, that's why there's a chance they won't do what you say. Although, if I were freaking out and aliens were attacking, if a guy in power armor leading a group of heavily armed ET exterminators, I'd do what he said. At any rate, do you think it'd be useful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 More reading on this topic can be found here and in here and also in here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GizmoGomez Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 Thanks, interesting reads. Do you know if Chris or another dev has commented on any of these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Nothing I could find form my quick search, but I get the feeling that there was some discussion about the Civilian AI being a bit more refined this time out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacobandit Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I know that, that's why there's a chance they won't do what you say. Although, if I were freaking out and aliens were attacking, if a guy in power armor leading a group of heavily armed ET exterminators, I'd do what he said. At any rate, do you think it'd be useful? You mean the guy in Power armor holding a big ass Plasma rifle and who is aiming at the big ass alien standing right next to you? Hell I'd run behind the alien. Maybe if you're lucky that guy in the Power armor will aim instead of hosing down the area indiscriminately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauddlike Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) If they have any experience with Xenonauts and their precision aiming techniques the civilians would realise that standing as close to the alien as possible is the only safe spot. Although, if I were freaking out and aliens were attacking, if a guy in power armor leading a group of heavily armed ET exterminators, I'd do what he said. Assuming you knew what he wanted and recognised him as friendly. If an Andron (big robotic looking thing) had just walked through your living room wall and attacked your family would you necessarily want to run toward the next big robotic looking thing you saw (Xenoanut in futuristic and unrecognisable armour)? Would him yelling at you to get to the choppa help? What if he was yelling in Mandarin or Russian or Geordie while you only spoke English? Would a Soviet civilian believe an American soldier who wanted him to obey while apparently attacking his town? Wouldn't some redneck with a shotgun open fire on the commie who had just turned up by his trailer and suggested he come with him? This is still the cold war where military action of any kind would likely be considered the long awaited invasion by their human enemies. Edited January 29, 2013 by Gauddlike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GizmoGomez Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) That is true, the nationalities could be an issue. I was saying if I, that is, me personally, saw aliens attacking, I'd go towards the humans. I'd like to think that I would be able to recognize a human, even if he were wearing power armor. I wasn't speaking for all of humanity. I was thinking it could be used for an escort-ish mission. Like, aliens attack some country's capital, and the friendly neighborhood Xenonauts come to save the day. You can either a) escort the most important government members (like, the prime minister and his cabinet or something) to the chinook and leave to "win" the mission (get positive points), or b) you can just kill all the aliens as per usual. If you fail, the country could have a massive drop in support, or even go over to the aliens side (since the entire upper levels of the government would be wiped out), meaning that it might be more of a mid game mission, when the aliens are getting more bold or something. I just thought it would be an interesting game mode/mission type to have, and so I designed my system based on that. Edited January 30, 2013 by GizmoGomez Grammar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauddlike Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 My post was sort of a summary of the parts I remember from the previous threads rather than a specific objection to your particular iteration of the suggestion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GizmoGomez Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Alright then, no worries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Name Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 SO hows about this simple feature... YOUR ARE WALKING TANKS MOVE THEM! Of course my suggestion won't work if the civilians arn't right next to you. But I a civilian is in a doorway or moving towards the aliens knock day arres out. What are civilians good for anyway, Cover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboRed Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 * Renders civilian unconscious with stun baton and throws him in my backpack "Okay boys, we got the prime minister. Lets go home" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 and the friendly neighborhood Xenonauts come to save the day. Sgt Tacobandit: I am too a friendly neighbourhood Xenonaut! Sgt thothkins: No, you'd have to wear spandex for that. Sgt Tacobandit: Then how do you explain the wavy lines coming out of my head then? Huh? Spider Sense! Sgt thothkins: There's always the Caesian Mind Control option...> gets stun rod ready< * Renders civilian unconscious with stun baton and throws him in my backpack "Okay boys, we got the prime minister. Lets go home" Why protecting diplomats never made it to be a secondary objective Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacobandit Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 SO hows about this simple feature... YOUR ARE WALKING TANKS MOVE THEM! Of course my suggestion won't work if the civilians arn't right next to you. But I a civilian is in a doorway or moving towards the aliens knock day arres out. What are civilians good for anyway, Cover? I used them for MC practice. And then they turned on you and you could kill them. No score penalty either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar Pancakes Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Sirs! The answer for this question had been staring us in the face all along! (http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com/forums/showthread.php/2059-Buddhist-Civilians) Set the fiery beacons to light the way to safety with the (hopefully-soon-to-be-added) flamenwerfer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thothkins Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Mom: Run to that beacon! Run! Son: we're saved! Mom: That's it! almost there! Son: That's no space..I mean beacon! Mom: It looks awfully like your dad. Son: But more melted. gaaaahh!!!! and they run back towards the aliens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar Pancakes Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Who then become well-done steaks by way of the hand-held xenogrill (ONLY 5 EASY PAYMENTS OF $1999.99!!!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.