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Author Topic: Design: Aliens  (Read 40749 times)

Offline BTAxis

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #30 on: May 10, 2006, 03:21:25 pm »
Make no mistake, though - aliens are not cannon fodder, at least not all of them. I think having, say, a completely mechanical unit be immune to poinon gas is not unreasonable at all.

PsyWarrior

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #31 on: May 10, 2006, 03:23:03 pm »
Oh yeah, but that makes sense. Just like 'don't shoot a tank with a machine gun'.

Mechanical units immune to poison / organic units immune to EMP is fine as far as I'm concerned. It's my own fault if I equip my entire squad only with poison grenades anyway... :P

Offline XCOMTurcocalypse

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #32 on: May 11, 2006, 12:30:20 am »
Also,please don't forget to add some upgrades to anti alien gas/or toxin launcher...Like XCOM 3

altugi

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #33 on: May 25, 2006, 04:25:37 pm »
I think guns and rifles are rather a question of providing players with different options regarding fire rate, fire rounds and destructiveness, combined with the level of accuracy of a unit. This will make the basic physical constraints, time and distance, important factors in employing and developing tactics.

A heavy gun which is not highly destructive but has high fire-rates and fire-rounds, is good for close combat, as even with low accuracy, chances are high that you can hit the enemy several times without running out of ammo. But its a waste when a low accuracy unit fires a whole clip on an alien which is on quite a distance. Typical example: Machine Gun.

To the opposite, a heavy gun with low fire-rate and low fire rounds, but high destructiveness, would be a good way to kill enemies before they get too close, especially when your unit is one with high accuracy. Noone wants his ammo to run out when the alien stands in front of us. Typical example: Sniper Gun.

Variations could create interesting combinations of fire-rate, fire rounds, destructivenesz, maybe even featuring special ammo types. Some could use these features in extrelemely polarized ways. Like they could be highly destructive, but fire at very low rates, very often not more than two or three rounds with a single clip. An example for extremely polarized stats is the rocket launcher. Just talking about rocket launchers, you could also have a class of intelligent guns, with guided ammo. These would eliminate the problem of accuracy. But they would be either expensive, rare, low ranged or a burden on the units mobility.

Then there could be a class of special purpose weapons. Purpose is more important than the fire rates etc here, as the name already suggests.

There could be made a distinction between "aggression" weapons and "defense" or "just in case" weapons. I rather would attack an alien with a heavy gun than a light gun. But even with a heavy gun in hands, I would like to have a light gun in my inventory, just in case... you know.

I think there must be a class of general purpose weapons, able to kill all sort of aliens. In the long term, when accuracy has increased amongst all units, the significance of the gun type will parish, since time and distance will not be as important as they were when accuracy rates were low.

Offline BTAxis

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #34 on: May 25, 2006, 04:41:06 pm »
That's kind of stating the obvious, altugi. Also, you're in the wrong thread again. Go read this one.

altugi

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #35 on: May 25, 2006, 04:46:29 pm »
Yeah, it's often forgotten because it's so obvious  :wink:

Wrong thread again?  :shock:

Offline BTAxis

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #36 on: May 25, 2006, 06:03:00 pm »
You're talking about weapons. This thread is for aliens. The discussions about weapon effectiveness earlier had more to do with alien resistances than with weapon behavior.

Northen_Wolf

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #37 on: June 12, 2006, 02:19:24 pm »
suggestion for alien terror unit:

They're small (half human size) worm like, can climb but not fly (climb attch to wall and go higer) can jump down from higer on top of your mans or aliens:
7
attack one acid - not far attack maybe 5-7 squares hit + after that falls on ground causing a toxic land (if u step on it u lose H points) its attack should be medium to weak

attack two eating: when near live human or alien it will grab it and dissaper (eats himself in human or alien).
1 turn nothing happens you can still controll the man (so do aliens can control aliens).
2 turn infected will run to nearest building if no building near then hides himself behind something)you can't controll it or see the mans wiew. It will be hostile to bolth so aliens and humans and you. it can spit acid and droped all its weapons and armor
3 turn. runs futher hide, can spit acid
4 turn goes as corner as possible (protects its sides) and changes itself to cocon.
5th-7th he can still shoot acid but can't move
8th turn 2 new worms come out from the body and move futher (not counted as hostile units by cocon) and worms can't use acid first turn
9th turn cocon will be broken and a Bugger (cryssalid type unit comes out)

Bugger is a unit that has 2 attacks one is acid (lots of weaker) and other one is sharp fangs(close combat). Buggers can't multyply they are ment to protect the worms.

You can stop cocon from evoluving by using stun rod (anything that can stun or pulse)on it . Infected soldier gets stunned and fill fall on ground enemy worms and/or buggers are destoyed.Recovering Debends how long he was under control if longer than 5 turns man won't wake up turning the battle. and needs time to recover at homebase.

Autopsy should be something like this:

[insert alien name here] is a small worm like a creature. It has total 3 muscels in its body. 1 in its movment organ 1 in hearth-lungs(same thing)and 1 in its mouth. Its body is filled with strong acid. It also has two eggs inside of its head. Acid catches easly fire.  It has no eyes it feels air vibrations. It is hostile towards everyone.

[buggers] Is a human sized creature and it is scared by fire (runs like hell futher). Buggers are [insert name here(worm)] next version. They are stronger but theyr acid attack is weak. they can move little less than normal alien. it can't reproduce. and it can't climb

easyer graphic (not so many typos):

Human or alien + worm = infected person=hides= can shoot acid= can't move= evoluve to two worms and 1 bugger

infected + stun or pulse weapon = 0bugger 0worms = infected will save when its wounds are not big= if longer than 5 turns under control can't wake up in battle but will recover at hospital.

worm + pulse= no worm
worm + fire= worm explodes like grenade
worm + any other weapon= worm dies squer where it was will become acid full

SORRY fOR TYPOS

Offline Bandobras

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #38 on: June 17, 2006, 10:14:27 pm »
Quote
parasite aliens


For whateven reason I really detest that idea. And most other ideas that are about goo, yuck, intestines, hybrid alien/humans, aliens popping out of your neck, mystic psychic mind-control (but I like the general idea of taking control, e.g. of an alien drone by intercepting its communication, etc.). Where is the technology/chivalry science-fiction gone, where you shed blood and tears and not goo!

Quote from: "BTAxis"
Equipping everyone with The Best Weapon is kind of bland.


Sure. But perhaps we can agree that some weapons, e.g. pistol _is_ going to be obsolete at some point. Then we can concentrate on making sure all the reamaining weapons have their advantages to the end of the game. As Altugi points out in his OOT post, this is possible by varrying range/accuracy/damage/firerate and, at least at the beginning, ability to buy ammo for. Moster succeptibilities are a welcome bonus factor, of course.

Quote from: "PsyWarrior"
However, having to mix all weapons is also tedious - you have to make sure every group of people you send out has at least one laser, one tachyon, one bullet-based, explosive, plasma...


You already have to mix your weapons, since you have to have long range ones (for your sniper), explosives (to damage hidden enemies), assault (for the standard sweep over the battlefield), short range ones (for clearing encountered buildings/ufos). Now just make sure that each guy that has a tachyon assault rifle, also has a laser pistol, and vice versa.

Quote from: "PsyWarrior"
you can't split your 8-man team into two any more, because there's a good chance one of your teams will run into something it doesn't have the weapons to handle.

The alternative is to send all of your people around in one big group, so that the weapon you need to deal with a specific alien is never far away. Disadvantage: When the aliens land some high explosive in the middle of the group, it's not going to be good...


This is called trade-offs. And imagine the fun of running away from resistant aliens towards your other team that sets an ambush for them... :D

krupa

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #39 on: June 27, 2006, 10:29:44 pm »
How about an alien, that implants a device/cocoon into an agent? Or gets inside the agent? Something very small. Lices or something. Swarm of them?

The alien would sneak on the agent, then implant him, making him unconscious. After a while, he would wake up. Other aliens would avoid him, knowing that the agent is infested.

After the mission is completed and the agents have returned to the base, the new alien would hatch, unless noticed and removed in a hospital or similar?

(Instead of hatching, it could grow and take control of the agent, while spawning another one to roam loose on the base... )

It would be fun to do a bug hunt within the base. It would also give long term effects after the battle, giving them more meaning than just simple shoot-outs.

Offline Bandobras

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« Reply #40 on: June 27, 2006, 10:44:29 pm »
<where is the throw-up emoticon, when, once upon your lifetime, you need one?>

:oops: Sorry. :)  Apparently your idea was intended to be disgusting. Well, you succeeded...

krupa

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Design: Aliens
« Reply #41 on: June 28, 2006, 01:52:05 am »
Nope, not intended as disgusting, just alien.  :D

I mean, what would be most robust, low cost and "subtle" means of conquering/dominating ? :)


I'd guess it hasn't been implemented in any game yet?

Offline Bandobras

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« Reply #42 on: June 28, 2006, 02:43:19 am »
Quote from: "krupa"
I mean, what would be most robust, low cost and "subtle" means of conquering/dominating ? :)


Aliens spread a few tons of well-engineered bacterias over the world. Game over.

Quote from: "krupa"
I'd guess it hasn't been implemented in any game yet?


I guess so. Your idea seems more sensible game-play wise that the one above, but still I prefer pure chivalry science-fiction, both for the ability to eat while I play, without a risk of an incident, and for the game-play quality.

Adventure-detective games are nice (tell by the speech patterns of my solderis which one is infected), but still I prefer squad combat with a nontrivial resource-gathering strategy element and a splattering of plot that gives athmosphere. If you kill my best soldier not in a fair combat on the battlefiled, but by popping an alien out of his neck, because he's forgotten to change his panties after coming back from the battle, I'll bite. :x

Offline BTAxis

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« Reply #43 on: June 28, 2006, 12:39:21 pm »
Quote from: "Bandobras"
If you kill my best soldier not in a fair combat on the battlefiled, but by popping an alien out of his neck, because he's forgotten to change his panties after coming back from the battle, I'll bite. :x

......Your soldiers wear panties?

Offline Bandobras

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« Reply #44 on: June 28, 2006, 01:29:22 pm »
Quote from: "BTAxis"
......Your soldiers wear panties?


Of course they are high-tech armoured panties, with PSI-screening capabilities, etc. The only problem is that you have to change them after every battle, or alien parasites might infest you (this is the real reason for what media call "hygiene").

BTW, I've forgotten to mention RPG elements of UFO:AI --- this is why loosing my best soldier, with his elaborate battle history, medals, background, skill advancements, etc. is so dramatic, and loosing him to a plot twist is unbearable...