terror mission idea: full scale invasions

[bluereaper75]

i want to see the aliens really decimate and raid cities. The opening text talking about the attack in mumbai really boiled this in my imagination.

Like i imagine missions were you are in a large city map and have to take on many aliens as they march through the streets with ruined and burning buildings around them, gunning down civilians as they run and hide. burning cars and abandonded barracades and military vehicles line the roads. dead civilian bodies litter the streets. The "evacuate immediately" music from the opening text screen plays in the background, further enhancing the mood and tone of the mission

it would have to be later in the game though, like when the carriers start showing up and you gain access to larger drop-ships

[Nutter]

I never really understood why the aliens suddenly practically cease all activity when compared to the initial attacks.
The passengers of six scouts will never be able to wipe out three battalions. No matter how well equipped you say they are.
And I don't remember having more than three harvesters in the atmosphere at a given time.
Okay, so I get why it's like this but I really wouldn't mind having a campaign that stars with giant enemy strike groups above every capital by the end of the week. Even if only at the highest difficulty.
It'd be more like 'Alien Invasion' rather than 'More and more skirmishes with scouts while waiting for the armada that's never coming.'
It'd be fun! ...in a futile Dwarf Fortress kind of way...

[Vassilios de Veritas]

as they march through the streets with ruined and burning buildings around them, gunning down civilians as they run and hide

Thats not what organized army does, it's what angry mob does. Aliens are soldiers, just like PHALANX guyz, right? Therefore they perform operations, not massacres. Even when main goal of these operations is bloodbath.
I guess.

[Nutter]

I sure as fuck hope these things aren't soldiers. It'd make Humanity the baddest motherfuckers in the galaxy by comparison.

And from what I've gathered they've got a hive mentality due to the stuff in their blood, right? So the closest comparison would probably be the Borg.
Or social insects like ants but they have castes and all I've noticed with these guys is that they're supposed to be using different species for specalised tasks.

[Hertzila]

My 0.02€:

They stop those big attacks because they ran out of beings to spare*. While they weren't the best of fights, we held them at bay and they took casualties (grievious ones, I assume) so they realised head-on won't work, especially since they have even less numbers now. So now, they start doing smaller operations in an effort to attain their war goals without attracting the full attention from everybody.
Also, IIRC they just about got what they wanted from those battles. No need to kill everybody again for that.

I sure as fuck hope these things aren't soldiers. It'd make Humanity the baddest motherfuckers in the galaxy by comparison.

Who knows, maybe we are. They just have an absolutely illegally huge amounts of guys ready in reserve.


*Sure they have more somewhere, but are you sure they can just warp in more? Maybe their FTL limits the mounts of ships they can put here and especially at the start of the campaign they are seriously lacking in usable bodies.

PS. Welcome to the forums, Vassilios de Veritas!

[Nutter]

Given that they have at least three different planets under their control and the ability to conjure up ridiculous amounts of antimatter, I'm pretty sure the only thing that'd make these attacks reasonable is if they needed everything they have to fight a third faction somewhere else.
Not that I'd complain. A touch of luck is always better than "Bald monkeys win on their own! Again."