So, what happens to alien weapons when you sell them?

[bluereaper75]

So I was thinking. If the only reason the armies of the world alone cant fight the alien invasion is because of how outgunned they are compared to the alien technology, why not arm them with weapons designed by phalanx? What would happen if you donated laser rifles and d-f cartridges to the various armies of the world? or donated advanced interceptors? or other technologies like nano-suits? wouldnt that make defending earth easier?

It also raises the question of what happens when you sell alien weapons you dont need. where do those weapons go?

This gives me an idea for a possible alternate winning condition. Have a meter for how effective the worlds armies are at defending themselves (starting at 0). Everytime you produce new weapons and equipment, you have an option for donating it to an army of your choice, which causes the meter to go up a small percentage. This could be a way of earning better relationships with the various funding nations. Eventually the meter would start going up by itself at various small percentages at a time. when it reaches 100% over time youd get an alternate ending, where the armies of the world join with you to fight off the invasion.

I feel like it would be a good idea if you wanted to show how much of an impact PHALANX is having on the world

[Crystan]

They throw them into the throat of a giant advanced tech eating monster located in the capital city of every country. Its also known as "Dōmo"

[bluereaper75]

I think this is something that the game needs to address at some point. I have the same issue with the x-com games. in those games, all the futuristic alien technology is only applied to the rest of the world after the alien wars. you could argue that PHALANX is supposed to be a secret organization, which makes no sense because, just like in x-com, the whole world knows about the alien invasion. It'd be easier to just come clean about the PHALANX operation for morale purposes. Even still, everybody knows about the aliens. You would expect that advanced technology and weapons would become common place in the event of an alien invasion. so why is all the advanced weaponry exclusive to PHALANX?

Id just like to see my efforts having more of an impact on the world. thats all

[geever]

What you suggest is another game. Sorry to say, that but we won't drop everything we've done so far and start implementing one man's idea.

-geever

[bluereaper75]

thats cool. just proposing this as a ufopedia thing. Just something I always wanted to know was what happened to all the alien weapons you sell that you dont need. thats all

[homunculus]

They throw them into the throat of a giant advanced tech eating monster located in the capital city of every country. Its also known as "Dōmo"

i always thought the alien tech and corpses were sold to be displayed in museums.

the rest of the human population has evolved to be unable to handle anything more complicated than a banana.
which, looking at rl, sometimes feels like it could be a good thing, provided that there are bananas for everyone.
in rare cases, however, the old-fashioned genotype gets expressed, and those few freaks (that do not fit in the society anyway) become phalanx soldiers.

i hope that clarifies the situation without obvious contradictions, or am i overlooking something?

[TrashMan]

Why would acknowledging new tech constitute a whole new game?

Of course, this depends on implementation, but some mechanic that makes you feel like you spreading tech has some impact and the rest of the wrold is doing SOMETHING would be nice. Naturally, such advanced tech would be expensive and hard to manufacture, so it would still be limited..no way every soldier is gonna get a fancy laser rifle.

But something.

If allies in battle zones are ever implemented (I do hope so, there are missions where it makes sense) they could have stronger weaponry avialable (randomly distributed). For example, a 10% chance one random ally would have a laser rifle.

Or if not, something else. Maybe it takes less time for the countries to handle the aliens themselves. Maybe a smaller morale penalty when you don't stop the aliens (if you sell the country some alien guns).


Something. But whatever it is, capped and limited so the Phalanx and the player never loose agency.


But if you say that anyone except the player being even remotely competent or acknowledged doing anything usefull is betraly to the game vision....I say your vision suxs.

[ManicMiner]

Geever,

One thing I do agree with (conceptually) is the inconsistency in the vision - on one hand the entire world is ENTIRELY dependent on a tiny band of irreplacable mutant hardnuts in Phalanx to defend it, nobody else can do anything; on the other hand Phalanx is only ever one month of bad missions away from losing the confidence of the nations. I can understand politicians saying "you're never getting another dime off us" but what about the half billion or so people in each nation who think of Phalanx as the only thing standing between them and the alien menace?

I have thought of a compromise which resolves that logical inconsistency without affecting gameplay... "venture capitalism". You ever seen that Nicholas Cage film where he's an arms dealer and his downed jet is stripped down to the wheels by enterprising nomads? Imagine that's how UFOs "go" if you don't intercept them...

If you shoot down a UFO and don't intercept it, let's assume (purely from a plot perspective) that a very small contingent of Ferengi-like capitalists in each nation aren't going to pass up the opportunity to make a fast buck even if they don't know one end of a gun from the other. They would hear about the crashed UFO, slowly make their way to the crash site, secure the perimeter, starve the aliens out, then steal the craft. Strip out the tech and pack the UFO out with C4, kaboom! Even the alien materials would be easy to move.

3-6 months later the small arms (weapons, ammo) and Alien Materials that you've researched, from each crashed ship not recovered, start appearing in the world market but at a very inflated price.

I wouldn't advise making anything large accessible in this way, as it'd then amount to a cheap alternative to the workshop - only stuff you can acquire without dismantling a UFO in a controlled manner.

[TrashMan]

I got better.

Simply put Phalanx isn't the only organization or attempt at fighting aliens. The world leaders would have to be retarded for it to be so. Thre are other organizations and major military forces trying to do the same thing you do.
Which explains the small funding.
You're literally competing with them for the same piece of cake. You are one out of several organizations. And the more sucess you have the more willing the nations are to invest in your rather then the others.

If you don't secure a UFO site there is a chance one of the others will.
There is also a chance the aliens will scuttle the UFO.
 

As it is, the game doesn't acknowledge anyone else is doing anything.
The wrold doens't feel "alive". It feels empty, devoid of life.

And it doesn't take much to spice it up. A message or two, news ticker or something that reports occasionly that the world and their militaries are fighting. If you got a mission to help defend a base or convoy, allied soldiers would be nice.
anything to show the presence of the rest of hte world.

[TrashMan]

Novel idea - new items may appear on the market, items developed by other agencies or nations.
Something simple like a more effective missile....HEAP rounds for the shiva? Items that really aren't that good, but can help in a pinch or when money is low.
Things that show that the rest of the world is trying too, an that the Phalanx isn't the only one who has the bright idea of studying alien tech and improving existing weaponry.

Also, small chance that civilian will spawn with a simple weapon (pistol, shotgun)?

[Nutter]

How about some of the easier missions are solved by the local forces once you shove enough tech down their throats?
The more you do it, the you have to cart your rather valuable troops from one scout crash to the other, leaving you to deal with the bigger, nastier and far more profitable issues?
You are, of course told about these events as they transpire.

Basically, it'd make Phalanx the shady, special forces guys called when the locals feel intimidated by the big bad harvester parked down the street.