UFO interceptions

[BTAxis]

Hello everyone. I was wondering about what UFO interception would be like in UFO:AI, eventually. As we all know, there was not too much to it in the original UFO, and even less in UFO:Aftermath. X-Force, however, has a (potentially) nice arcade minigame. I'm interested in hearing what you all believe UFO interception should be. Myself, I wouldn't mind a more interactive model, where playing skill factors in more than it did in the original. But on the other hand, maybe it would be to the detriment of the game's fun if it was.

[Hoehrer]

Hello everyone. I was wondering about what UFO interception would be like in UFO:AI, eventually. As we all know, there was not too much to it in the original UFO, and even less in UFO:Aftermath. X-Force, however, has a (potentially) nice arcade minigame. I'm interested in hearing what you all believe UFO interception should be. Myself, I wouldn't mind a more interactive model, where playing skill factors in more than it did in the original. But on the other hand, maybe it would be to the detriment of the game's fun if it was.

My 2c on this topic (what i dream of as a player)
Ok, first of all, i'm all for an interactive mode BUT we should make it optional. So we should be able to let automation take over when you don't feel like it -> outcome is calculation by chance/weapons/speed/etc... This will ofen be the case in the later game when you need to do alot of other things as well.

Thinking as a developer (what is possible in the near future):
* I think the first version of UFO:AI that includes this feature it'll just consist of an interceper that pursuits the ufo and when it reaches it the ufo will be shot down by a chance of xx.
* Later on we will probably impelkment something similar to the UFO:EU behaviour (which is already pretty interactive)
* Even later (distant future) we could have some sort of hyper-interactive-mode where you could even 'fly'your interceptor and shoot the alien down or something similar. But this is alot of work, so we will probably stick with soimething between the UFO:EU mode and this.

Werner

[inquisiteur2]

In my point ufo ai should have the same interception mode than the first UFO, which I think is far better than the xforce one.

Another alternative is to implement a MOO2 interception style, if possible of course.

[BTAxis]

I'm not exactly thinking of X-Wing, here. I think it'd have to be simple, because shooting down UFO's really isn't what this game is all about.

Though, I would probably love something like a Gradius style minigame. That's pretty much impossible, though.

[oxyXen]

Another alternative is to implement a MOO2 interception style, if possible of course.

Word!

ox

[Virtul]

In my point ufo ai should have the same interception mode than the first UFO, which I think is far better than the xforce one.

Another alternative is to implement a MOO2 interception style, if possible of course.

agree
there are a lot of freeware arcades like intrecept part in x-force...

[Killertomato]

This interceptions discussion reminded me of one thing.
I'd like to see a UFO in the finished product that looks like the one in this old 70's TV series "UFO".  

http://website.lineone.net/~darkstar2/

More on topic I'd say that for now interceptions should just work like the ones in X-COM for the sake of getting a new playable TD or product. Later first person view interceptions could still be implemented for the fun of it.

[Virtul]

ufo intercepting could be the same as in original ufo but slightly enhanced as graphically as in gameplay, for example with additional option to target different ufo parts - engine, cabin, power core... less accuracy but increased chance of ufo won't be damaged (to collect more stuff after mission end) or more aliens will be dead or total destruction of ufo and so on

[Reenen]

IMHO the only reason to make the interception more complex (time consuming) is to enable you to not explode the "elerium" (can't recall what the AI version is).

I like Virtul's suggestions.

[Centron]

ufo intercepting could be the same as in original ufo but slightly enhanced as graphically as in gameplay, for example with additional option to target different ufo parts - engine, cabin, power core... less accuracy but increased chance of ufo won't be damaged (to collect more stuff after mission end) or more aliens will be dead or total destruction of ufo and so on

I agree completely with this idea. Attacking the modular parts of a UFO would be an extreme undertaking (Coding wise as well as different models for crashes where different parts are destroyed) but interactivity would be very appealing.

[Thought]

One thing that might be nice, if it is implementable, would be to include pilot characters. That is, in the original X-Com there were soldiers with stats, but pilots apparently were bought and sold with their craft. It might be nice to have pilots with their own stats that would effect how alien craft are shot down. Perhaps one pilot has a lot of skill in maneuvering and so he is able to stay on the UFO's tail (or even gain), whereas another pilot might have good dog fighting capabilities, which would ensure a greater chance of shooting down the craft, while yet a third might have good targeting capabilities so that the craft is shot down in better condition.

As for the actual event itself, I would recommend something simplistic for the player. One can't really turn air combat (are all "UFO" flying? do some swim, or dig, or walk, etc?) into strategic combat. Perhaps "combat" like in the old rebel assault games, where the player doesn't really fly the craft, but just aims the weapons?

Just a,

Thought

[BTAxis]

Non flying UFO's wouldn't really be UFO's, would they?
Though there will likely be landed UFO's, I don't think there will be any digging, walking or swimming ones. Why bother when you can fly? Besides, how would you shoot down a submarine UFO? Or start a tactical mission on one? There'd need to be tons of extra underwater maps, and support for underwater combat as well.

[Malick]

Hi,

I like the idea of having pilots, that you assign to a specific aircraft and that have specific abilities that modify their aircraft's stats accordingly. This will give another level of immersion to the player, if it doesn't end up with too much micro management.

Why not apply the same system that already exists for soldiers: promotions, medals, wounds and heal times etc.. The pilots' abilities may be like:
Maneuver/Dogfight - how good is the pilot to place his aircraft in good position when pursuing an enemy
Precision - how good is the pilot at getting a successful shot at his target
Fuel Management - the pilot may know how to optimize his aircraft range
Speed - in the same fashion, he may know how to get the best out of his aircraft's propulsion system

Kills could be recorded, number of sorties, etc.. Pilots could be assigned to any kind of craft: dropships or fighters. Obviously, best pilots should have the best craft.

Malick

[BTAxis]

Sounds good, but what if the pilot's craft is shot down? Does the pilot get a chance to survive, or is he lost forever? I assume the pilots will have an eject mechanism in their craft, but does the pilot always eject in time? What if a weak craft gets destroyed in one hit from an alien beam weapon? The pilot wouldn't have a chance.

[Malick]

Sounds good, but what if the pilot's craft is shot down? Does the pilot get a chance to survive, or is he lost forever? I assume the pilots will have an eject mechanism in their craft, but does the pilot always eject in time? What if a weak craft gets destroyed in one hit from an alien beam weapon? The pilot wouldn't have a chance.

For pilot ejection, it may be possible to add a value specific to the aircraft type, which would reflect the chance of survival of the pilot. This value could improve over time with better technology discovered, why not add new techs to the tech tree.

And we could go to a real far extent, with a shot down pilot that you have to save (Combat Search And Rescue missions) before the aliens capture it, if that sounds credible. Oh well, just a thought.

Malick