UFO: AI Chryssalid Successor? Alien Concept: Hydra

[Alex]

I like moredeths suggestion...  its very Alien-esque...

This could be a different form of attack...  An alien implants an egg sack, but the soldier is ok for the mission... however back at base about a day later, the egg sack hatches, killing that soldier and resulting in a base attack mission where theres heaps of alien spawn roaming the base causing mayhem

[Gedaliah]

Without sticking my foot in my mouth too much, it's present day scientific fact  that if the brain 'sees' a part of it's self as damage it can ignore the damaged part, reroute around it, and reassign other parts to take over the damaged portion's function. More over, implanted with a array of small electrodes(not recommended, btw), by sheer will a person can learn to use those electrodes to interface with electronic equipment.  So to say that a meer biological or techlogical agent can co-opt the brain directly without causing fatal or near fatal damage is sci-fi

To say that this agent co-ops the nervous system or motor control, or taps into the brain as a source of information? Wile in practice is Sci-Fi, is not that far fetched.

Game play wise? I agree with Voller, in all the squad based X-Com games(UFO Defence, Terror from the Deep, and Apoc) you could suddenly and irrecoverable lose a team member, but you could also turn around and replace him just as easly, with some training(Although having a solider with 90+ across the bored was a loss). More over you could always just reload to a earlier point if it was a critical, or a loss fatal blow.

There needs to be a system to stop or recover the infected. To lose one unit, and turn around and lose another with no recourse represents a unacceptable risk, and maybe a game braking one. The little black terror from X-Com was not  all that fearful. It was more a easy kill with the flight suit,  a reason to move in formation, or a instant reload when it started spreading like the 'Black Plague'. It was more annoying...

[Alex]

Gedaliah you make some good points, which is why I prefer the idea of implants /nano bots/ biological agent acting directly by stimulating certain muscle groups with electro-chemical impulses.  Anyone who's been electrocuted knows they have no control over the affected muscles, and with superior alien technology firing muscles off in sequences, its not too far fetched to think they could drive a person like a toy car.

Our scientists can already get a cockroach to drive around with a remote control.

[Surrealistik]

So to say that a meer biological or techlogical agent can co-opt the brain directly without causing fatal or near fatal damage is sci-fi  

To say that this agent co-ops the nervous system or motor control, or taps into the brain as a source of information? Wile in practice is Sci-Fi, is not that far fetched.

The virus essentially subverts the motor control of the subject, and biologically hardwires the brain (much as we are to eat, reproduce, etc...) to attack human beings, while consuming the rest. It is also ultimately terminal (it metabolizes, co-ops and breaks down remaining tissues at an incredible rate).

There needs to be a system to stop or recover the infected. To lose one unit, and turn around and lose another with no recourse represents a unacceptable risk, and maybe a game braking one. The little black terror from X-Com was not all that fearful. It was more a easy kill with the flight suit, a reason to move in formation, or a instant reload when it started spreading like the 'Black Plague'. It was more annoying...

There is; the virus incubates in an afflicted victim for several turns. How long the incubation process takes is dependant on the health of the target. During this time he can be cured with the medikit, if you've researched the Hydra and its pathogen. It is only after his health is reduced to 0 and he is transformed into a zombie that the process is irreversible.

As for the Chryssalid, on superhuman it could be problematic if you had low-medium tech, unless you were moving in at least 3-4 man groups. It is certainly true that once you obtained the flying suit that they were little more than a joke (but by that time you should have just about won the game anyways).

Ultimately I suppose this discussion and all related propositions are all more or less moot given that Winter doesn't seem to be too keen on zombifying pathogens or agents of any sort.