Here's a thought: with the talk of a 12-unit (Soldier or UVG) in the battlefield, the idea of UVG pods mounted as subsystems on dropships (which I love), and later-game dropships allowing for up to 12 troopers, a thought comes to mind. Since the Pod-mounted UVGs will still take up a unit slot in the player's roster, the player should still need to delegate a trooper to control the UVG via remote (akin to modern day, the
TALON comes to mind). As such, for each UVG mounted on the dropship, the player would need to delegatte one trooper to stay in the dropship (i.e. not appear on the battlefield) to control the UVG. Should the UVG be destroyed, the controller may emerge from the ship to replace the UVG's slot on the roster, with whatever equipment assigned before the mission (essentially allowing the player to take 14 units to battle, but with a plausible reason why only 12 are ever in play at once). Just a thought.
With regards to UVG sizes and armaments; I've played a number of games over the years which involved customizable combat units, and I do like the idea of multiple UVG chassis with corresponding weights, armor levels, and weapon loads (hardpoint sizes). I would assume the Medium and Large UVGs (if both 2x2) would have similar/same TU pools, but the Large would be heavier (i.e. higher TU cost per movement). The Large would also have heavier armor (hence the weight) and a larger hardpoint able to accommodate larger (heavier) weapons. I do hope, if it is possible, that the player's soldiers will be able to fire over/across some sections of the UVG, using it as cover when cover is sparse.
And I don't like the idea of a dedicated UVG facility. They are machines; they are born in the Workshop, they live in Storage, when injred they go back to the Workshop, and if anything the Command Center can take care of any controlling needs.
