Civilians killed too soon

[Sugna]

Hello,

This is not a bug, but it really pisses me off and may discourage users to play: why are Aliens allowed to kill civilians before we see them? In the "Amazon" Map, for example, it is impossible to save all civilians, since they are killed before we reach them. It is frustrating.

Can't you guys create some kind of "rule" to not now allow such things happen? (without sacrificing the realism)

Rebalancing the distribution of aliens and civilians in each map, maybe? 

[BTAxis]

There will be no special rule for this (as that would be stupid) and repositioning the spawn locations isn't practical, especially on smaller maps. In my opinion the solution lies with the AI, which should prioritize shooting at PHALANX over shooting at civilians.

[Destructavator]

Actually, considering the aliens are usually at a mission site first and it can take hours for a dropship to get there, I would think it would make sense for some civilians to already be dead by the time troops get there, in the interest of realism.

It would add to creepiness and horror if already dead bodies were around when the player gets there...

Edit: ...although out of fairness I think the player should only get docked for civilians that die during the mission (if this was implemented).

[Sugna]

"In my opinion the solution lies with the AI, which should prioritize shooting at PHALANX over shooting at civilians"

That would be good.



"Actually, considering the aliens are usually at a mission site first and it can take hours for a dropship to get there, I would think it would make sense for some civilians to already be dead by the time troops get there, in the interest of realism.

It would add to creepiness and horror if already dead bodies were around when the player gets there...

Edit: ...although out of fairness I think the player should only get docked for civilians that die during the mission (if this was implemented)."

Agreed.

[odie]

*snip* In my opinion the solution lies with the AI, which should prioritize shooting at PHALANX over shooting at civilians.

I agree to this.... probably between choosing powerless civilians (unless sometime in future, they could be armed?? I mean afterall, there are many countries with citizens that are armed....), and choosing PHALANX, aliens should always choose shooting PHALANX first (unless their probability is very very low....)

Actually, considering the aliens are usually at a mission site first and it can take hours for a dropship to get there, I would think it would make sense for some civilians to already be dead by the time troops get there, in the interest of realism.

It would add to creepiness and horror if already dead bodies were around when the player gets there...

Edit: ...although out of fairness I think the player should only get docked for civilians that die during the mission (if this was implemented).

PS: I would also perhaps recommend spawning DEAD CIVILIANS upon starting of map (which will not go towards score penalty) and generating LIVE CIVILIANS (and possibly armed in future) who can be shot dead? What do u think? I am sure the programming will need a bit of tweaking, but does makes for HORROR FEEL of the battlefield. Just imagine seeing 20 dead citizens when u arrive..... that will really send shivers down my spine.

And oh, have we considered blood pools as graphics??

[Destructavator]

PS: I would also perhaps recommend spawning DEAD CIVILIANS upon starting of map (which will not go towards score penalty) and generating LIVE CIVILIANS (and possibly armed in future) who can be shot dead? What do u think? I am sure the programming will need a bit of tweaking, but does makes for HORROR FEEL of the battlefield. Just imagine seeing 20 dead citizens when u arrive..... that will really send shivers down my spine.

And oh, have we considered blood pools as graphics??

This is exactly what I was talking about, yes.  If dead civilians could be both randomly placed as well as put in a few strategically placed locations for drama it would be nice, for both the horror factor and realism.

Let's also not forget about local law enforcement, perhaps a few dead officers who responded and were taken down by the aliens before the rest pulled out, waiting for PHALANX troops to arrive to deal with it.

[Sugna]

"Let's also not forget about local law enforcement, perhaps a few dead officers who responded and were taken down by the aliens before the rest pulled out, waiting for PHALANX troops to arrive to deal with it."

Agreed.
Injured policemen would be nice (new models based on each country police would be required), even more if PHALANX's members could give them orders like "Go ahead, I'll cover you" (bait) or "Stay away, officer" (spare).

Communication (orders) with civilians would be awesome as well, but I believe this was already suggested, right?

Imagine if we could arrange some "ship megaphone" and order a soldier to send large speeches (orders to all non-alien NPCs) like: "People of *, PHALANX has arrived to secure your region. Stay calm and seek a place to hide until we reach you."

[BTAxis]

That all sounds too detailed and overdone to me. I think it's best to keep things simple.

[odie]

That all sounds too detailed and overdone to me. I think it's best to keep things simple.

Yes yes, too complicated, i agree.

Lets just stick to spawning random dead bodies / blood pools, which counts as well.... graphics. lol.

We can have male and female adults, kids, even dead animals here and there.
If only we have a 3D / 2D graphics artist onboard, this would really makes things speeded up.

[dast]

Hi,

two thoughts:

1. Aliens have a mission

- On harvesting and terror they should kill (keep hostage?) all civilians as fast as possible
- On fighting they should concentrate on Phalanx

2. On spawing civilians there could be a chance that they are injured or even dead.
Like the hurt aliens on the crash maps ...

Maybe for every dead civilian another living can be created and moved a bit ?

Ciao Stefan