General > Discussion

Base design

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Winter:
Making a whole facility with nothing in it but tactical defences is a waste of space and developing time, neither very realistic nor very effective in battles. This is a whole 1x1 tile that you guys would have devoted to it, which is pretty massive in tactical space. We have a better option than that and we're taking it.

Placeable defences at choke points will do the job much more elegantly and we already have some models for them as well. And you'll still be able to obsessively place every facility just so for defence value, so that's that.

Regards,
Winter

Mayhem:
I'd really like to see the base models includ no open doors anywhere - its a secure facility, right?

But on generating the map, 1, 2 or 3 areas with a surface opening (depending on the size of the invasion) are replaced with a damaged model where the doors have been blasted open and the aliens are starting inside.

So, no doors at ground level at all in the hangers, for example, but if thats the area chosen for the alien starting point the model is replaced with one in which the vulnerable hanger doors have been blown to shite and the alien shock troops are inside already.

Entry points would then be any of the hangers, the missile bays, the main entrance and (possibly, though the current design seems odd to me) the workshop.

****

It would make checkpoints less valuable - sure, you can put all your surface stuff on one side of the checkpoint, but unless you actively go hunt the aliens they'll have free range to destroy everything on that side - all your hangers and missile bays.  Even if they are subsequently unable to break through the checkpoint, they have made your base much easier to reach for the next wave, who can enter at no risk of being shot down en route... 

****

Of course, this is easy to blithely trot out but it is additional work for the modelling team, and as I've said before, I am unable to contribute.

TrashMan:

--- Quote from: Winter on August 10, 2008, 09:35:38 am ---Making a whole facility with nothing in it but tactical defences is a waste of space and developing time, neither very realistic nor very effective in battles. This is a whole 1x1 tile that you guys would have devoted to it, which is pretty massive in tactical space. We have a better option than that and we're taking it.

Placeable defences at choke points will do the job much more elegantly and we already have some models for them as well. And you'll still be able to obsessively place every facility just so for defence value, so that's that.

Regards,
Winter

--- End quote ---

Well, you're probably right there.. a single tile is rather big in tactical.

So what placable defenses have you planned?
Are they carried and deployed by soldiers in battle (think turrets from Alien) or placed during base bulilding or placed before the battle?

Mayhem:

--- Quote from: BTAxis on August 08, 2008, 10:29:13 pm ---The point of base assaults is that aliens have a considerable chance of damaging your facilities or vehicles. Base defence missions aren't about the player easily holding down the fort. By that token, I wouldn't assume the missions would be short if I were you.

--- End quote ---

Having just run another tedious base defence, I'd like to revisit this point.

Base defence currently takes to long.

The reason it takes too long is purely because you generally spend the last 10 minutes (or more) very carefully moving through the base, eventually discovering that the last alien is bumbling about amongst the no-access buildings on the surface, on the opposite side of the map.

If base defence took a long time because of the succesive waves of  aggressive aliens trying to rush my defences, then " a very long time" would not be "too long".

But when, during that "very long time" nothing exciting happens, as you cautiously inch your way through your base and then out accross the surface, looking for that one last alien who is making no attempt at all to invade your facility - well, that "very logn time" becomes "too long."
 
Players should not be tempted to press "auto mission" because conducting the defence otherwise is a dull, painstaking activity.

TrashMan:
Frankly, I see nothing wrong with having you squad near the entrance when the mission starts.

Hech, it's an alien INVASION. Just keep spawning in lots of aliens as some get killed.
It's supposed to look like an invasion. The wave of enemies should push you out of your initial defensive positions, forcing you to back up. You should be fighting nail and tooth to hold on to you base, even with all the defensive turrets ane positions.

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