UFO:Alien Invasion

General => Discussion => Topic started by: Timo on September 07, 2012, 12:59:03 pm

Title: Suspension of belief
Post by: Timo on September 07, 2012, 12:59:03 pm
Hello.

In all sci-fi there is a element of "suspension of disbelief", IE things that break the feeling, logical or item or something. Like watching Armageddon, pretty much everything was wrong in it.

So: Lets discuss about what breaks suspension of belief in UFO-AI. No long explanations, just list of things what makes things look "wrong" somehow. Devs: don't take this as blame, just what could be made better. Love the game.

I'll start:
- All beginning human techs are basically 1960-era techs. Some modernization of basic combat equipment is in order
- Aircraft designs, while nice, looks more like slow helicopter than fast jets.
- Aliens (at least in 2.4) seems to prefer killing civilians over your team.

Anything else?
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: H-Hour on September 07, 2012, 01:39:43 pm
I think you've got suspension of disbelief backwards. It's more about the tendency or willingness of a reader/viewer/user to believe the story in spite of the implausibility of the details. In fact, I just checked and that's almost exactly how wikipedia words it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief).

The problem with these discussions is that they hinge more on the (often incorrect) assumptions of the reader/viewer/user than they do on "reality". Take your comments, for example:

1. The assault rifle doesn't look anything like the M16 or the AK47, the two most prominent assault rifles in use in the 1960s. It actually bears greater similarities in appearance to the modern-era G36 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_G36). Neither does the sniper rifle look like the M14 or Dragunov used at that time. It looks more like the Barrett M82 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett_M82) with a muzzle break, also in contemporary usage.

2. If you haven't noticed, Phalanx bases are underground. Aircraft must be capable of VTOL (vertical take off and landing).

3. Why do you assume aliens care more about Phalanx than killing civilians? You could call it unrealistic, but a sci-fi author could have just as easily intended it to be an insight into alien psychology and strategy.

You can pick any single element in the game (or any sci-fi work) and find a reason why it might not make sense. The same is true in the world we live in. Suspension of disbelief is about embracing the whole rather than picking on the details. If we have an engrossing game, we'll succeed in generating that.

But there will always be people who pick out one thing and decide that is the reason the game is unrealistic. Everyone finds something different for their brain to fixate on. Changing one thing or even a list of things won't fix the problem. It will just introduce new ones.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Wiz33 on September 08, 2012, 12:34:25 am
  Don't get so defensive. I don't see the need to argue over a phrase. I get what the OP was talking about. As to the points he raised. here my response.

  1) Some of the weapon does look dated. maybe not the 60's but not what I would expect in 2084. Here's a couple that came to mind.

  The assault rifle would certainly look dated in 2084. I would at least expect something in line of the M8 family of weapons, especially one with the grenade launcher under the barrel.

  The Rocket Launcher does look WW2 vintage. Why do we still have a rocket launcher when man portable guided weapon is common place today. Give me a LAW for unguided rounds and a javelin for a guided round anytime.

  Also, since the alien got hover drones in 2.5. I hope we are getting some sort of portable AAW too.

  I also would think we would have some sort of basic direct energy weapon available by 2084.

  Other that that I'm pretty much OK with everything else.

  2) Aircraft. I have no problem with the aircraft except that I do think the Stiletto looks ugly but that's a personal opinion.

  3) Yes and no. I guess we could have alien with different objective in different missions. I have no problem with the aliens put more priority on civies on a terror mission but I would expect them to act different in other mission type.

  I also think that the the game is great but some minor tweak may make it better.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 08, 2012, 03:41:05 am
It's two different phrases actually. Suspension of Belief is an inability to believe something. Suspension of disbelief is the ability to accept as real something which isn't necessarily.

1) Universality of recognition. A rifle should look like a rifle. The rocket launcher looks like an RPG-7 because it's the most common looking rocket launcher on the planet. And if we started today destroying them all, we probably still wouldn't be done by 2084.

2) Because they're designed to use the best features of helicopters combined with the best features of airplanes. (Plus it's hard enough to actually model them in the first place so any similarity can be excused.)

3) Aliens probably can't tell one human from another, but if you were attacking a group of humans, wouldn't you pick off the unarmored, weak ones first? I would.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Crystan on September 08, 2012, 12:17:46 pm
It's two different phrases actually. Suspension of Belief is an inability to believe something. Suspension of disbelief is the ability to accept as real something which isn't necessarily.

1) .... The rocket launcher looks like an RPG-7....

I dont see any similarity between these tow things (excluding that both are rocket launchers):
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Rpg-7.jpg/350px-Rpg-7.jpg)
(http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/Deus_Ars/Misc/rocket_launcher_example7.png)
Actually it looks more like a javelin or a stinger

    2) Aircraft. I have no problem with the aircraft except that I do think the Stiletto looks ugly but that's a personal opinion.
I think the Stiletto is the best int model that whe have atm:
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/11/10012/thumb_620x2000/render.jpg)
Whats wrong with it? :>
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: jerzy_cz on September 08, 2012, 02:30:07 pm
About aircraft models. Stiletto does not look like craft able to fly so fast. Something similar to Harrier would look correctly. The same goes with Heracles...
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: H-Hour on September 08, 2012, 03:37:37 pm
About aircraft models. Stiletto does not look like craft able to fly so fast. Something similar to Harrier would look correctly. The same goes with Heracles...

Stiletto is the slowest interceptor. The Heracles is a heavy-weight dropship. It's not meant to be very fast.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: ShipIt on September 08, 2012, 04:43:28 pm
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQfmJN4M82GftQW8o0WT6euuyVFDk3rSaLzwLEjSnu5Qs7ZTpyA)
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Crystan on September 08, 2012, 07:24:54 pm
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQfmJN4M82GftQW8o0WT6euuyVFDk3rSaLzwLEjSnu5Qs7ZTpyA)
Greatest post in forum history! :D
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Wiz33 on September 08, 2012, 08:52:56 pm
I dont see any similarity between these tow things (excluding that both are rocket launchers):
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Rpg-7.jpg/350px-Rpg-7.jpg)
(http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/Deus_Ars/Misc/rocket_launcher_example7.png)
Actually it looks more like a javelin or a stinger
I think the Stiletto is the best int model that whe have atm:
(http://media.indiedb.com/cache/images/games/1/11/10012/thumb_620x2000/render.jpg)
Whats wrong with it? :>

  Wrong launcher. this is what a Javeline looks like;

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/javelin.htm

Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Wiz33 on September 08, 2012, 08:57:50 pm
It's two different phrases actually. Suspension of Belief is an inability to believe something. Suspension of disbelief is the ability to accept as real something which isn't necessarily.

1) Universality of recognition. A rifle should look like a rifle. The rocket launcher looks like an RPG-7 because it's the most common looking rocket launcher on the planet. And if we started today destroying them all, we probably still wouldn't be done by 2084.

2) Because they're designed to use the best features of helicopters combined with the best features of airplanes. (Plus it's hard enough to actually model them in the first place so any similarity can be excused.)

3) Aliens probably can't tell one human from another, but if you were attacking a group of humans, wouldn't you pick off the unarmored, weak ones first? I would.

  1)A rifle does not necessary looks like a rifle. The M8 family actually looks futuristic enough that they actually use something similar in Mass Effect.

  2)Take a look at the picture of the RPG7 above and tell me what part of it looks like the rocket launcher in game?

  3)Are you kidding me? Why would anyone ignore a armed target that can potentially kill you or (even if the alien does not have self preservation instinct) compromise your mission and go chase down an un-armed civie. Maybe except in the case of a terror mission.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Crystan on September 08, 2012, 09:08:20 pm
  Wrong launcher. this is what a Javeline looks like;

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/javelin.htm
I didnt say it looks exactly like a Javeline. I wanted to point out that the UFO:AI Rocket Launcher looks more like a javeline or a stinger than RPG7.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Unisol on September 08, 2012, 10:15:42 pm
<offtopic>
Uh, could you guys please stop arguing about alien AI? Everyone knows that, at current level, even a five-year-old would outsmart any taman. There is progress on this matter, but slow enough.
</offtopic>

Anyway, back to topic. The one thing that stands out for me is lack of any kind of human resistance except PHALANX. I mean, seriously? There are so many aliens up there we haven't yet invented the number for it, and 30-40 soldiers manage to hold them at bay?
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Nokim on September 09, 2012, 12:04:42 am
Anyway, back to topic. The one thing that stands out for me is lack of any kind of human resistance except PHALANX. I mean, seriously? There are so many aliens up there we haven't yet invented the number for it, and 30-40 soldiers manage to hold them at bay?
Well, it is said that PHALANX is special force and is not the only organization fighting aliens, it is just the best in terms of quality. But for some reason (obvious complexity of this) no any activity of others sides is shown/simulated. Good example is X-COM:Apocalypse - others fight aliens too, especially police, but sure they can't be compared to X-COM  ;)

However it looks really strange, that there is no any country with pair of Saracens or Stilettos (fully human tech and not so expensive in game prices) to shoot down Scouts or Fighters at least sometimes.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: jerzy_cz on September 09, 2012, 01:04:38 pm
Stiletto is the slowest interceptor. The Heracles is a heavy-weight dropship. It's not meant to be very fast.
Well, they are quite fast for their bulky appearence... They are flying with high subsonic speeds, (Stiletto's top speed is even above 1 Mach)  but their non-aerodynamical shape suggest otherwise - something closer to helicopters.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Nutter on September 10, 2012, 10:49:33 pm
Well, with strong enough engines...it'd shake itself apart in a few weeks.

But until then and with all the finest techs the world can offer...I think that candle can shine brightly.
That said, it's specialty is doing magic up close, not speeding.

I didnt say it looks exactly like a Javeline. I wanted to point out that the UFO:AI Rocket Launcher looks more like a javeline or a stinger than RPG7.

Isn't it based off the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle? The last version of that is only twenty years old. And it works...why fix?
Not all good weapons look fancy. And the javelin has a min range of 75m. I'm not even sure my snipers can hit a harvester at that range. Add the fact that it's a single use weapon dedicated to taking care of tanks...apples and oranges, at this point.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 12, 2012, 02:56:27 am
It does look similar to the Carl Gustav. The Stinger is guided, which the rocket launcher is explicitly NOT because of alien jamming technology.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Crystan on September 12, 2012, 12:14:16 pm
Probably some of you misunterstood me. I just talked about the look - not about the functions etc. :>
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 12, 2012, 06:53:09 pm
I know, but it also couldn't be a stinger because of the huge guidance box which the Rocket Launcher lacks.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: OllyG on September 13, 2012, 08:22:23 am
... it looks really strange, that there is no any country with pair of Saracens or Stilettos (fully human tech and not so expensive in game prices) to shoot down Scouts or Fighters at least sometimes.
Sometimes the alien ships crash for no apparent reason, could they have been shot down by someone?
Some missions where local military are calling for help would be nice.  I recently played a mission where a military convoy was being attacked, but it looked like all the soldiers had deserted, I saw a few civilians wearing green, but they had no guns.  Also the convoy looked very like a modern one.
A better idea than reworking all the weapons and vehicles in the game would be to set the game in 2024 rather than 2084.  The only thing which shows that the game is in the future is the names of the countries.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Nutter on September 13, 2012, 01:55:22 pm
It allows for some more advanced tech in the fluff, though. Railguns and lasers on human tech, for example.
Stilettos and pulse detonation engines (Firebird) as well.

Probably some of you misunterstood me. I just talked about the look - not about the functions etc. :>


But really, it doesn't. Sure, it's got the whole metal tube rockets go in thing but...that's pretty much it.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 15, 2012, 01:58:34 pm
Pulse Detonation? You mean the thing that was invented by the time of World War II? So it could be used to power the V-1 Rocket?
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Flying Steel on September 16, 2012, 06:13:17 pm
Isn't it based off the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle?

Indeed it is. I was instructed to model it off of that real-world weapon system. If there are no special licensing issues, it might even make sense for it to be explicitly identified as such, in game.

One of the game's premises is that earthly smart weapons are easily defeated by alien countermeasures somehow. So simple, robust and overpowered weapons from previous generations of warfare are brought back into service to be used against them.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: ergotoxin on September 18, 2012, 06:52:58 pm
It allows for some more advanced tech in the fluff, though. Railguns and lasers on human tech, for example.
Stilettos and pulse detonation engines (Firebird) as well.

Laser and railgun weapons might actually come to widespread use much much sooner than 2084.

Naval railguns are developed by the US. Laser weapons are actually used since the 90s. One of the more recent examples is the FIRESTRIKE:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/14/weaponised_rayguns_hit_shelves_in_time_for_xmas/?d=154600 (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/14/weaponised_rayguns_hit_shelves_in_time_for_xmas/?d=154600)

I was myself quite surprised that UFO:AI takes place in 2084 and these weapons aren't developed yet.. guess army isn't funded so well in the future :D

I'd hate to lose the opportunity to research these weapons though, research is what I always loved about x-com/ufo! Much better solution might be what OllyG suggested - setting the starting year to 2020s or perhaps 2040s-2050s.

Just my two cents  :)
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: BoogieMan on September 19, 2012, 01:25:15 pm
As far as the seemingly dumb at times AI for the Aliens, I decided to view it as their arrogance. Meaning that they think that they and their tech is so much better they don't have to be as careful about cover and don't view our soldiers as all that much more dangerous than civilians.

Seems to me while they do have superior tech, we're more skilled at war and tactics. And if you take away the tech our soldiers are better.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Nutter on September 20, 2012, 03:00:03 pm
Laser and railgun weapons might actually come to widespread use much much sooner than 2084.
Naval railguns are developed by the US. Laser weapons are actually used since the 90s. One of the more recent examples is the FIRESTRIKE:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/14/weaponised_rayguns_hit_shelves_in_time_for_xmas/?d=154600 (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/14/weaponised_rayguns_hit_shelves_in_time_for_xmas/?d=154600)
I was myself quite surprised that UFO:AI takes place in 2084 and these weapons aren't developed yet.. guess army isn't funded so well in the future :D
I'd hate to lose the opportunity to research these weapons though, research is what I always loved about x-com/ufo! Much better solution might be what OllyG suggested - setting the starting year to 2020s or perhaps 2040s-2050s.
Just my two cents  :)

I'm talking about man portable railguns especially. Even if you can fit one on a ship, it doesn't mean it's actually worth making an infantry weapon out of it. And even then, I'm guessing you'll be seeing an anti-material weapon first.

And note:
Quote
Portable blaster rifles or carbines aren't really on the cards yet, then. But a reasonably useful laser tank could well be a goer if Northrop can do what they say.
Okay, so it's probably closer than 70 years but still.

Pulse Detonation? You mean the thing that was invented by the time of World War II? So it could be used to power the V-1 Rocket?

No, that one is a pulse jet engine. It had moving parts and the combustion lasted longer.
The first pulse detonation engine flew in...08 with no practical engine in production to date. So I'm guessing it'll still take a while before it catches on. And even longer before someone decides to go VTOL with it.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 21, 2012, 03:15:10 am
Ah, got it. Was using an old definition.

And at the moment the problem with Railguns is that you only get a few shots before you've got to change the rails because they're too warped to make contact due to heat. Friction is HOT.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Nutter on September 22, 2012, 10:25:52 pm
Fixed by only ever using a set of rails For one shot in the game itself.*
The main issue is supposed to be power generation/storage.*
*At least if I remember fluff correctly.


That said, I'm suddenly reminded of Silent Storm...might be I'd have to make a thread about that later.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: homunculus on September 27, 2012, 10:28:17 am
the situation is bit complicated imho.

1) if the date would be 1954, i would be all in favor of that.
stereotypical ww2 weapons all over the place, and modern weapons would appear appropriately futuristic.
but then the geoscape would be more complicated with all the nations there, unless there is a way to unite several nations into an organization or council that would finance phalanx.

2) the secrecy and small scale of the human response after mumbai.
no matter how long the explanation, it just doesn't work.
in the original game, as far as i remember, the governments wanted to have a diplomatic option while secretly financing x-com.

3) aliens wearing casual clothing or being naked (like ortnoks) on earth.
if you would go to mars, would you go naked, or with casual clothing?
aliens seem to have no appropriate protective clothing nor protective glasses.
not optimal conditions could be part of the explanation why aliens on earth are more clumsy than humans.
for example, humans have penalties with alien weapons because those were designed for aliens, while aliens are clumsy at everything they do because they are not on their homeworld.
i doubt a human soldier would perform as good on mars as on earth at least compared to hypothetical marsians.

4) there is no hint at selling phalanx battlefield footage, and financing from that profit.
in real life it would be something like this:
"leaked: top secret phalanx agents against aliens battlefield footage, uncut."
if a flamethrower gets blown up when a soldier dies, extra cash next month.
civilian gets butchered by a bloodspider, extra cash next month.
(nation happiness would drop in such cases, though)
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on September 28, 2012, 02:12:44 pm
Frankly, I'm sorry, but the inability to sell things we've manufactured is really a killer in 2.4. No money is why I continue to lose. (Being mercilessly slaughtered by Aliens is another.) Even if it's a minimum amount or only those things we start the game with, production of items for sale is both a classic thing, as well as making sense. I mean, sure, the weapons for the most part are top of the line technology, but supposedly the rocket launcher is an antique, meaning no one is going to care if you're shipping out 50 crates of it, as opposed to top secret laser weapons, or handheld rail guns.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Nutter on September 28, 2012, 07:31:39 pm
I think getting that finished is one of the major points of .5, though.
Not sure.
And it's not like you're dumping the stuff into Africa or wherever the hotspots are in 2084 for them to care what you're selling.
I'm sure any military would love to get their hands on some alien-resistant tech.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 01, 2012, 01:08:07 pm
Good to hear. If I could figure it out, I'd change it myself.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: homunculus on October 02, 2012, 09:31:03 am
Frankly, I'm sorry, but the inability to sell things we've manufactured is really a killer in 2.4.
Good to hear. If I could figure it out, I'd change it myself.
i hope that will never ever happen.
i hope your iq is declining ; )
nothing personal against you, just the idea, i hope it will never be implemented.

you get low on cash when you make the nations angry in the start, and you will never recover, until you loose, right?
at least the easiest difficulty should let the player recover from such situation, but from my experience, it doesn't (not that i have played 100+ games and done statistics, though).

tried some experiments with starting locations on easiest, and had the most difficult game i ever had because of low cash.
also, nations never gave me one single pilot (luckily that was not a problem for me, just observation).
and loosing the game took until august or september (a long time, not "fail-fast" at all).
from all that i derived that the player needs at least partial radar coverage of china asap, or else nations will get angry and will not give credits for increasing radar coverage, and the easier the difficulty the longer the difficult game will last (because nations must get really psycho angry).
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 03, 2012, 06:30:29 pm
I have to say, I'm sorry, but if I can't win because of aliens, that's perfectly acceptable. I expect the aliens to be my biggest threat. But if I can't win because I can't make enough money to build enough radar or bases to cover every single one of the whiners, that's just not fun.

So either there needs to be some ability to produce cash, even in small amounts, or some serious early-game rebalancing needs to be done. Because the nations expecting perfection immediately from a group that's just started is not enjoyable at all.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Unisol on October 03, 2012, 10:44:09 pm
Well, it seems that money at the beginning of the game is really a problem. Too bad there are no banks left by 2084 that could give you a loan, maybe with some of xenotech as a collateral... or are there? ;)
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: homunculus on October 04, 2012, 09:31:44 am
if I can't win because I can't make enough money to build enough radar or bases to cover every single one of the whiners, that's just not fun.

So either there needs to be some ability to produce cash, even in small amounts
so, instead of increasing radar coverage, you would make an effort to build workshops that don't increase radar coverage, for miniscule profit (as you wished for) later when you don't need it anymore, because you needed the cash in the beginning.
and in addition to that, instead of protecting earth, your phalanx is trying to become an arms producer, and is not fulfilling its intended purpose.
or some serious early-game rebalancing needs to be done. Because the nations expecting perfection immediately from a group that's just started is not enjoyable at all.
well, at easier difficulty there could be some cash and soldiers etc that is independent of nation happiness.
like free term in an equation.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 05, 2012, 03:20:27 am
No, I'm building up the resources to be able to build radar coverage so I catch more aliens. It ends up being a choice, build a radar station? Or replace the interceptor that just got shot down? And with out one the other is useless, and because the happiness instantly starts dropping, I don't have the cash to do both. And the only way to make money is in small increments if the UFO is salvagable, which it tends not to be unless I let them land, which causes the happiness to fall faster.

If nothing else, I should at least be able to produce my own weapons and ammo cheaper than buying it, otherwise there's no reason to even have workshops at all.

I'd be satisfied if the happiness rating only changed at the end of the month like it did in X-Com. It gave breathing room so you could improve it. As it is, they seem to be able to change at anytime, meaning you'll see them drop several times before the end of the first month, which is all but impossible to counter-act.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: homunculus on October 05, 2012, 03:00:03 pm
i very much doubt this tactics discussion belongs here.
so i posted reply in tactics forum: http://ufoai.org/forum/index.php/topic,6324.msg55783.html (http://ufoai.org/forum/index.php/topic,6324.msg55783.html)
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Telok on October 05, 2012, 03:03:39 pm
If nothing else, I should at least be able to produce my own weapons and ammo cheaper than buying it, otherwise there's no reason to even have workshops at all.

I'd be satisfied if the happiness rating only changed at the end of the month like it did in X-Com. It gave breathing room so you could improve it. As it is, they seem to be able to change at anytime, meaning you'll see them drop several times before the end of the first month, which is all but impossible to counter-act.

Workshops produce the things that you can't buy. These are not sophisticated factories with assembly lines. They are general machining shops producing prototype hand crafted weapons, armor, and aircraft. The gear from your workshops is actually more expensive because you end up paying (ideally) your engineers wages and the opportunity cost of the spaces and living quarters in the base.

The nation happiness may need tweaking. I've never noticed a major problem in standard difficulty camapigns, is it an issue on the other difficulties?

Personally I tend to put my first base in Italy, radar posts in the middle of the region names on the map, and don't risk the interceptors on alien fighters until I have a strong financial situation (and lasers). The second base usually goes in Australia or North America, depending on which gets more activity.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 06, 2012, 05:01:57 am
It's not tactics, it's the fact that I can't believe the fact that producing something on my base, at the point of use, should cost the exact same as what's produced elsewhere and then shipped to me.

I also find it hard to believe that the various nations have so little faith in Phalanx that they start cutting off funding we need.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: homunculus on October 08, 2012, 09:08:57 am
you mean, producing things in non-specialized workshops in a secret underground base is somehow so cheap that it can compete with ordinary (above ground) specialized factories?
i would find that unbelievable.
so why don't people build such underground factories all over the world right now if they are so competitive?

the 'research complete' state is also unbelievable, in real life the research will go on for ever and never be complete, and when the research is complete then the scientist dies.
or something like that, this wording was sarcastic but i hope you get the point.
you get, say, a live alien and in a week you know everything about it, while after a hundred years research we don't even know everything about the most simple earthly bacteria.
research should not have an upper limit.

on the other hand, kerrblade should be obvious and straightforward enough so that a soldier should be able to use it right away without research (at the same time the kerrblade research would not have an upper limit, of course).
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 09, 2012, 04:57:34 am
By which I mean isn't it cheaper to manufacture ammo where it's being loaded and given to the soldiers than produce it, and then fly it half-way around the globe?

Not necessarily. Consider that it's been that entire hundred years, but we hadn't actually discovered them until then. We first had to stop and develop Microscopes that could see them, and the development didn't stop, we just didn't have to keep researching them to do something with them. Usually you can only get so far before you need another breakthrough to move to the next step.

Of course, the Kerrblade is essentially useless, but that's beside the point. It should be fairly obvious.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: homunculus on October 09, 2012, 08:51:55 am
ok, we don't even know what exactly triggers dna replication in bacteria, we don't know exactly how linear growth (of mass of bacteria) differs from exponential growth and why, etc, we don't know how much we don't know.
and microscopes (and many more things) have been around for more than a week.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 12, 2012, 04:02:43 am
What I'm driving at is that yes, research is endless, but once you hit a certain point, it's not really being developed for the military application any more.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Anarch Cassius on October 25, 2012, 10:23:17 pm
I think the deal with PHALANX funding is politics. Despite relative peace you can imagine the wariness the alliances may feel about turning over their defense to a 3rd party. Where you put you base is a big deal and that country gets good protection. It's hard not to imagine this having political ramifications.

So they all start willing to play ball but they aren't going to stop funding their own individual defense and this is all very expensive. PHALANX may be Earth's best hope to some people but others may argue that they'd be better off fighting on their own instead of subsidizing other nations' defenses. If one or two alien incidents go unresponded to you can see how their attitude could quickly go from helping PHALANX to suspecting it's a power play by the other nations to weaken them. Their citizens are being mutilated in the street while an organization they've put tons of money in to is attending to the needs of other regions.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: Triaxx2 on October 26, 2012, 04:36:18 am
I finally got past that first hump. That's what it is really, is one sharp hump. Once you're beyond that, it's easy to stay afloat, but that early hump is a killer.
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: CriticalFumble on October 29, 2012, 04:07:24 pm
The starting gear doesn't bother me really.  At least for ground forces simpler gear is in general better than a more complicated parallel, even if they were somewhat more effective.  For instance, you could swap out all your forces' paper maps for PDAs, but what happens when your infantry gets stuck out on the front lines for a week or more without a place to charge the PDAs?  Same with your firearms, low maintenance guns means that your soldiers need fewer supplies to keep fighting. 

On an artistic note, it also provides a reasonably clear indication of whose tech is whose.  Human tech is more angular and boxy and dull colored, alien tech is curvy and bright or has lights, and the union of the two has some of both.  Including human gear that has the smooth, sleek design that a lot of people think of as futuristic would mess with the motif. 

There are some things in the game that gives me pause.  Most of it is stuff that is in development or has to do with needing more content.  Like the harvester crews that huddle together in a lower front room when you stand a soldier beside its hull.  And when you shoot down a craft over Antarctica the map is very much like the ones in (the populated sections of) Russia, and the women are wearing short skirts (not a single penguin or polar bear to see, either).  I'm fairly certain I saw the topless islander woman on a Saudi Arabia map, too.  Also, while I understand the point of merging nations together in the game, I find most of them hilarious when I think about it. 

One thing I would say is off is the first encounter story.  I get that ETs' strategies would not be our own, and that they strike in waves; but the initial urban attack sounds like it was heavier than anything I saw in the first year (standard difficulty, but still).  It would seem like the recon missions would be worrisome enough that they would form PHALANX.  It would also explain the apparent ambivalence at the start of the game; and as the alien assault grows in strength the nations would be willing to cough up more funding so long as you were protecting them effectively. 

Willing suspension of disbelief is fairly easy to keep up so long as there's no huge shark jumping involved.  Like if it turned out that the aliens were led by Elvis and the final mission had him as a boss riding a rainbow triceratops singing "Another One Bites the Dust" as he fires his dual belt fed particle cannons. 
Title: Re: Suspension of belief
Post by: H-Hour on October 29, 2012, 04:32:52 pm
if it turned out that the aliens were led by Elvis and the final mission had him as a boss riding a rainbow triceratops singing "Another One Bites the Dust" as he fires his dual belt fed particle cannons.

No spoilers!