Technical support > Feature Requests

Gender differences, sexism, hidden weaknesses in soldiers

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beng:
You know how in UFO Enemy Unknown / XCOM you would have some really good soldiers with high stats then in late game when the aliens start using Psi attacks you find that they have a weakness to psionic attacks and you have to hire new soldiers?

There could be something similar in UFOAI and it could be related to gender differences. Due to the effects of testosterone, men tend to have higher muscle mass than women, so they are stronger and faster:


--- Quote ---â–  Women are shorter, have less muscle mass and weigh less than men, placing them at a distinct disadvantage when performing tasks requiring a high level of muscular strength and aerobic capacity, like ground combat. Female dynamic upper torso muscular strength is approximately 50-60 percent that of males. (CF 2.1.1, 2.1.2)

â–  Female aerobic capacity is approximately 70-75 percent that of males. In terms of military significance, at the same marching velocity and carrying the same load, the average woman works at a higher percentage of her aerobic capacity. This means that women cannot carry as much as far as fast as men, and they are more susceptible to fatigue. (CF 2.1.3)
--- End quote ---
- WOMEN IN LAND COMBAT: Selected Findings - 1992 Presidential Commission

So the starting stats of male and female recruits should be different. The men should start off with higher strength and speed, more TU. The women should have less. This will lead players to have sexist hiring practices and favour hiring men over women soldiers in the early game.

However, because the player deploys mainly men, the aliens capture some Phalanx solders who are all men some time in mid game and after performing horrific experiments on them, like what Phalanx does to captured aliens, discover a male weakness that they think affects all humans because their sample has only men. They then develop a weapon that targets this male weakness. When they deploy it, men who were once strong soldiers suddenly become weak and helpless on the battlefield and have to be rescued by women, who are not affected.  The player must then turn to hiring more women since they do not have the male vulnerability. Men become the weaker sex and women become the stronger sex in mid game.

Vae Victis:
Average women are shorter, etc. than the average man. Phalanx soldiers aren't average in any way, so your entire point is moot.

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