CURRENT STORYLINE -- SPOILERS!

[homunculus]

[...]

the quote starts with 'if'.

[rynait]

...  regardless of IF,  that commentary was a joke. 

Roy

[Herville]

I have an idea that may fill some holes and hopefully not break anyting already set.

What if even with faster than light travel the aliens use a substential amount of time from there to here... say 100 years. Now ; in the 100 years since they planned and started the invasion something that changed the situation happened. The third ww was cut short by a massive meteor shower threathening to extinct humankind. This forced a stalemate and began the commowealth. A massive orbital network of missile platforms were depoloyed to prevent this from ever happening again. When the aliens appear on scene this was not what they were prepared to face at all. They are either unsure about this developement and seeks to disrupt these coverty or are unable to approach because of the pure firepower the platforms present. However, they have a finite number of smaller recon crafts that are similar enough to human design to pass undetected, or at all. This explains the commonwealth, why there is no great war, and may give ideas to what we need to do to defeat them. If this attack force is defeated anouther 100 years will pass until the homeworld is notified of the develoments, and another 100 until reinforcements appear. Safe...for now.

[Lancaster]

Why do so many newcomers want to come along and ask us to throw out years of work and re-vamp everything?

If we constantly re-started to please every newcomer who came and did that we'd never make real progress.

At some point in a project's development, they really have to stop re-vamping things, pick a plot and stick with it so progress can be made.

We have to stick with what we have, even if it doesn't please everyone as being "perfect."  Reason being, its good enough to make most of the game mechanics work.

Edit:  If you really want a new plot, work on a mod or an alternate campaign, but for shit's sake I'd wish people would stop trying to re-do the main one!

I'm going to take a wild guess, and say that most of the newcomers keep trying to change the game's plot is basically because they're performing a rather crude form of market analysis for you.  Now, you can ignore that analysis if you want--it's your game, and you're the ones who would have to do all the work of re-writing the story for it--but honestly, I truly would not recommend it.

So far, you've developed a truly awesome set of game mechanics, a truly inspiring game engine, fairly decent graphics, good sound effects, and so on and so forth.  You've gotten all the minor little details perfected to such a degree that it's scary.

The problem (and apparently universal decree) is that your plot stands squarely in the way of making this one of the most awesome games that has ever been developed.  I have played game after game where the developers made the mistake of concentrating on getting the details right, and ignoring the plot--and I've seen all to many games where the details were really kind of iffy, but the plot carried the player through.  Total Annihilation's and Earth 2160 spring to mind most immediately as examples of the former, of games with great details, but crappy central plots.  TA: Kingdoms springs to mind as the foremost example of a game with only decent mechanics but a plot I really liked to keep me playing for a long, long time.  You marry a good--even a great--plot with a game like the one you've already got, and you're sitting on a gold mine, if you want to exploit it.  At the very least, you've secured a reputation as one of the best game-producing outfits in the world today (especially if you can repeat your success).  At most, you might find yourself able to obtain the financing to create your own game company, and to catapult all of you into wealth, fame, and riches.

As I've said, the choice is yours--but with a game like this, if you don't get it right on the first try, somebody else will.  And after all the work you folks have put into it, it would truly be a shame if somebody else ended up in taking all the credit for the success UFO: AI is almost certain to become.

[Winter]

I'm going to take a wild guess, and say that most of the newcomers keep trying to change the game's plot is basically because they're performing a rather crude form of market analysis for you.  Now, you can ignore that analysis if you want--it's your game, and you're the ones who would have to do all the work of re-writing the story for it--but honestly, I truly would not recommend it.

So far, you've developed a truly awesome set of game mechanics, a truly inspiring game engine, fairly decent graphics, good sound effects, and so on and so forth.  You've gotten all the minor little details perfected to such a degree that it's scary.

The problem (and apparently universal decree) is that your plot stands squarely in the way of making this one of the most awesome games that has ever been developed.  I have played game after game where the developers made the mistake of concentrating on getting the details right, and ignoring the plot--and I've seen all to many games where the details were really kind of iffy, but the plot carried the player through.  Total Annihilation's and Earth 2160 spring to mind most immediately as examples of the former, of games with great details, but crappy central plots.  TA: Kingdoms springs to mind as the foremost example of a game with only decent mechanics but a plot I really liked to keep me playing for a long, long time.  You marry a good--even a great--plot with a game like the one you've already got, and you're sitting on a gold mine, if you want to exploit it.  At the very least, you've secured a reputation as one of the best game-producing outfits in the world today (especially if you can repeat your success).  At most, you might find yourself able to obtain the financing to create your own game company, and to catapult all of you into wealth, fame, and riches.

As I've said, the choice is yours--but with a game like this, if you don't get it right on the first try, somebody else will.  And after all the work you folks have put into it, it would truly be a shame if somebody else ended up in taking all the credit for the success UFO: AI is almost certain to become.

#1 -- The UFO:AI core plot is rock solid, and barring some edits that I'd like to make on parts of the backstory, there is nothing I am unhappy with.

#2 -- With things as they are, the only place UFO:AI is going to stand or fall is implementation. I've been working since day one to get that right in every aspect of the game.

#3 -- 'Universal decree'? Don't make me laugh.

Regards,
Winter

[Destructavator]

#3 -- 'Universal decree'? Don't make me laugh.

Allow me to expand on this point - While we have had some users complain about the plot, the number of such people is nowhere near the number of people who have downloaded and enjoyed some version of the game as it is.

As of this post the number of downloads for just the 2.x versions total to 447,326 downloads, and I've seen the thread with the test installers for 2.3 has ~38,633 views, not to mention that many more download those test builds because I've seen people copy the links to other forums and places on the Internet.

By comparison, I don't see half-a-million forum members posting negative feedback on the game's plot.  All that considered, the unsatisfied group appears to be a small minority.

[Borsti67]

Unfortunately you can't count on sheer numbers.
E.g. you can't recognize how many downloads were "retries" or made by the same persons from different computers, and in no way you will ever see how many downloaders installed, looked, removed WITHOUT leaving a note here...

Anyway, as long as the devs have a clear plan about WHAT and HOW to implement, there's a big chance the project will be (kind of) finished somewhen. And it WILL have its fans. For each complaint there's (at least) one spending kudos to the team. So what?

[weekendwarriora1c]

Perhaps the hive is taking a cue from all of its previous encounters with new races.  Whenever it showed up to a new planet and tried to "communicate" (by spreading its nasty alien spores all over the place) the other race did its best to exterminate them, probably wiping millions of the spores, and thousands of the hosts out with whatever weapons they had at hand.  So it comes to Earth and says "Hi" by landing and randomly killing tens of thousands of us.  No big loss for a hive mind.  Probably thought of itself as being terribly diplomatic.

Since wholesale slaughter in no way serves an agenda of collecting host bodies, they must in fact simply be trying to say: "Hello there.  How are you?"

That's the only explanation I can come up for why they'd kill first, and then only attempt to spread themselves later.  Perhaps all the early "attacks" were just casual meetings.  They'd come, they'd kill us, we'd kill them.  All very civilized, you see?

Eventually, when they've "discussed" this proposal with various random members of the human race, they decide to go ahead and begin the peaceful process of assimilation.  If they are a hive mind, they may be incapable of understanding centralized leadership, or of multiple independent leaderships, or cooperation.  They don't strike down the central governments, or bother with stopping or accessing communications. 

When PHALANX sends out attacks against landing parties and airborne ships, perhaps the alien return attack isn't an attempt to root out some threat to them.  Perhaps it's simply a courteous response.  If they thought like humans, we'd clearly lose the conflict.  I can only assume they don't even consider themselves at war.  As a hive mind, they wouldn't see their people as "individuals" so the loss of thousands of their hosts is no real loss at all.

After all, if they thought like humans, they'd find a war to communicate through their worm holes and be able to spread their influence through the galaxy without losing cohesion.

[Hertzila]

They have no spores or anything (at least wiki doesn't mention anything like that), the only way to infect people is direct blood transfer (different sizes for different success rates and speeds).
So the slaughter did have a point: they were collecting bodymass for their bioengineering of the XVI-H strand, as well as gathering the very early volunteers (if there were any). That's the very point of the early attacks, gather enough humanity to research and develop a suitable strand of XVI. They continue this for some time after. I'm guessing we gave them too much resistance and forced them to escape prematurely.

After they realise that we could actually hurt them, they decide to do things more covertly in order to minimise resistance (this is why I'm guessing they never wrote books about strategies and tactics like we have [Sun Tzu notably], they didn't know much about our strength and proceeded to underestimate us). Basically, the initial attacks raised the interest and anger of humanity and doomed the aliens (if PHALANX succeeds, of course).

After that, both parties (MUCH more emphasis on the alien side) realise how big of a fight this will turn into. I think the local XVI-aliens worked pretty cut-off from the main planets (for various reasons) and as such have to specifically start to order more heavier weaponry to be shipped here (heavier plasma weaponry and particles).

Edit: Basically, what I'm saying is that if the XVI had been more wiser about strategies, they would have done things much more similarly to the Yeerks of the Animorphs series: start slowly by gathering volunteers (and covertly doing the forced infections), then bit by bit get more brave do more riskier things, then and only then start a full-on invasion, hopefully with one or more supranation under your control. Now, the XVI ran straight into the eyes and sights of humanity and pays the dear price (again, supposing that PHALANX succeeds).

[weekendwarriora1c]

Even if they have to have direct blood contact, and haven't evolved their reproduction method in a million years, they certainly understand the technology needed to fire needles filled with the substance, even if it is drawn on each shot from the hand of the host (which doesn't seem likely, as it apparently cannot adapt from the old host to the new one without being re-engineered.  (Though an organism that can bioengineer itself to match a new host should have no problem creating air burst weapons with a weaponized, aerosol version of itself.)

[Hertzila]

I think it doesn't bioengineer itself, the infected aliens like taman do it with the (possibly captured, unless one of the aliens made the XVI themselves) tech they have.

[weekendwarriora1c]

The storyline says the first race developed it as a bio weapon.  This first race became the original host for the hive mind, which then outgrew them.  It also says it has to engineer itself to infect each new set of hosts.

[homunculus]

@herzila
as far as i remember, some time ago the devs wrote that, according to the planned plot, the game will be impossible to win.
so, if i remember correctly, phalanx will not be successful.
finally we would have a game that is not all about winning, then.

[TrashMan]

#1 -- The UFO:AI core plot is rock solid, and barring some edits that I'd like to make on parts of the backstory, there is nothing I am unhappy with.

Rock solid?
That...would be a rather generous statement, given how "light" the story is compared to all the technical fluff.
The XVII virus? The alien empire?
I can understand that you're proud of your achievment and with what you wrote...but calling it Rock Solid is like calling Avatar the most profound and original story ever written.....Ok, not like that, that was a really extreeme example, but you get my drift.

In short, the story doesn't passthe standards you yourself have set for the rest of the game.

Allow me to expand on this point - While we have had some users complain about the plot, the number of such people is nowhere near the number of people who have downloaded and enjoyed some version of the game as it is.

As of this post the number of downloads for just the 2.x versions total to 447,326 downloads, and I've seen the thread with the test installers for 2.3 has ~38,633 views, not to mention that many more download those test builds because I've seen people copy the links to other forums and places on the Internet.

By comparison, I don't see half-a-million forum members posting negative feedback on the game's plot.  All that considered, the unsatisfied group appears to be a small minority.

Wouldn't that be because the current verion of the game doesn't go that far into the plot?
You can't have people complain when 99% of them don't even know what the plot IS.

[weekendwarriora1c]

If they don't want anyone taking stabs at the storyline; no worries.  I'm sure none of us write novels or would have any worthwhile input.  The storyline is very ID:4.  Luckily, the special effects help distract from the plot.