Messages

46

Discussion / Re: How-to draft beginnings

« on: February 25, 2013, 05:36:46 pm »

Nation Happiness

PHALANX is a UN organisation that is permitted and funded by the unanimous support of its member nations. If we neglect the defense and security of one of our sponsors, they'll soon lose faith in our capabilities and withdraw their funding. Let the relationship deteriorate too far and they may shut the whole operation down.

To keep up satisfaction in the performance of PHALANX, make sure the organisation can cover as much of the globe as possible and confront alien attacks all around the world.

47

Discussion / Re: How-to draft beginnings

« on: February 25, 2013, 05:36:14 pm »

UFO Disassembly

Disassembling captured UFOs will be vital in the battle to uncover secrets about the alien technology. PHALANX will need to build a UFO Yard -- an off-base installation to house the recovered crafts -- as soon as possible.

Our engineers will need to travel to the storage site and transport the components back to their workshop, so UFO Yards should be built close to the base where work will occur.

Addendum

Before our engineers can disassemble a UFO in a way that will yield usable materials, they'll need the complete technical readout from the research teams.

48

Discussion / Re: How-to draft beginnings

« on: February 25, 2013, 05:35:51 pm »

UFO Interception

We can't just wait around for the aliens to come knocking at our door. We need to detect alien craft and shoot them down whenever possible. The initial PHALANX base includes a powerful radar facility, but we'll need to build off-site radar towers to cover more of the sky.

Once a UFO has been detected, we'll need to dispatch our nearest interceptors to try to shoot it down. But we're heavily outgunned in the air, so we should send multiple aircraft whenever possible.

Addenda

Off-site radar towers have a smaller detection range than our in-base installations.

Previously unseen types of UFOs should be approached with extreme caution until our scientists and engineers can establish their combat capabilities.

Alien activity will often go undetected in areas where our radar coverage doesn't reach and the funding nations will be angry when PHALANX fails to respond to these attacks.

49

Discussion / Re: How-to draft beginnings

« on: February 25, 2013, 05:35:26 pm »

Production

We may be able to repurpose captured alien technology for use in the war, but PHALANX will also need to produce its own advanced Terran technology and aircraft.

Our initial base has workshop space for a few engineers, but to improve the pace of production we'll need to build additional workshops, hire more engineers and set them to work on something.

50

Discussion / Re: How-to draft beginnings

« on: February 25, 2013, 05:35:02 pm »

Research

PHALANX will need to conduct a broad research program to combat the superiority of alien technology. Our scientists will examine any artifacts recovered from a successful combat mission and deliver new research proposals via the mail client.

To develop the research program, build new laboratory facilities, hire more scientists and set them to work on a specific research project. With luck, we will be able to leverage what we learn to deploy more effectively on the battlefield and maybe one day take the fight to the enemy.

Addendum  (note: addenda is plural)

Artifacts must be stored in the same base where they are researched. If a research project is listed as unable to be researched at a particular base, it may be stored at a different base or you may need to research another project before it can be adequately studied.

51

Discussion / How-to draft beginnings

« on: February 25, 2013, 05:34:37 pm »

The following items have had basic "how-tos" requested. Per the thread with the original quote, these should be more like a cross between a user manual and a FAQ than like a strategy guide. This thread exists for that purpose - the posting of drafts, critiquing and rephrasing thereof, and suggestions for additional topics. I'll be reserving a bunch of posts after this so that the individual topics can each get their own posts.

As a note: I'm not positive I get the flashbangs part well enough to write it, but I'll give it a shot.

Code: [Select]

Basic Concepts (Campaign)
 Research
 Production
 UFO Interception
 UFO Disassembly
 Nation Happiness
 
Basic Concepts (Ground Combat)
 Time Units
 Reaction Fire
 Soldier Weight and Encumbrance
 Wounds and Healing
 Auxiliary Equipment
Please note that we want these to be very simple, short, clear and straightforward. Consider this a how-to on the absolute basics, not a strategy guide. Please also realise that I or others will probably change and edit any text you contribute, but a head-start will still be appreciated.

If there are other concepts that need to be explained, suggest them, but don't feel bad if we reject. This is really just the basics, not a full manual.

52

Discussion / Re: PHALANX base design

« on: February 25, 2013, 04:39:43 am »

One simple fix would be to remove the upper-level access points for the workshop. Failing that, swap the default locations of Workshop (vulnerable) and Alien containment (not).

The discussion was probably a long time ago, but what's the logic behind the unbuildable points on secondary bases? Given the large number of effectively mandatory structures (at a minimum, access elevator, power plant, command center, living quarters, radar), they seem to be an annoyance more than anything else.

Edited to add: One other possible solution would be to allow the player to see the locations of the rock tiles and then place the access elevator in the position they desire. This could actually allow the player to turn these unbuildable points into an advantage rather than a nuisance/liability.

53

Discussion / Re: 2.5 sucks completely

« on: February 20, 2013, 06:53:56 pm »

Code: [Select]

Basic Concepts (Campaign)
 Research
 Production
 UFO Interception
 UFO Disassembly
 Nation Happiness
 
Basic Concepts (Ground Combat)
 Time Units
 Reaction Fire
 Soldier Weight and Encumbrance
 Wounds and Healing
 Flashbangs and Field of View
Please note that we want these to be very simple, short, clear and straightforward. Consider this a how-to on the absolute basics, not a strategy guide. Please also realise that I or others will probably change and edit any text you contribute, but a head-start will still be appreciated.

If there are other concepts that need to be explained, suggest them, but don't feel bad if we reject. This is really just the basics, not a full manual.

Check. I think I can tackle most of these.

Is it easier to make them new wiki pages, or to put them into the current online manual, or elsewise?

54

Discussion / Re: 2.5 sucks completely

« on: February 18, 2013, 08:00:17 pm »

We're planning to add a section to the ufopaedia for basic game concepts like reaction fire, wounding, etc.

I'll one-up the "cool" that was posted a little while ago: If developer/coder types will put together a list of those things they wish to see in a "Basic Game Concepts" section, writing up those areas is one place where I could productively contribute.

55

Discussion / Re: UFO:AI needs you. Yes, you.

« on: November 05, 2012, 09:07:35 pm »

I have no talent on the front of graphics/music/coding, but as I've played through part of version 2.4 (currently near the end of August 2084), I've encountered some UFOPaedia entries (especially in the research reports) that sound "off" given my background as a scientist-turned-educator. How would one go about volunteering to clean these up?

Also, although it's a touch meta-gamey, I'd like to see something like damage capacity ratings for the assorted aircraft.

56

Discussion / Re: New Player need help with reasearch / How to collect UFOs ?

« on: July 17, 2012, 05:31:30 pm »

FWIW, I have the same issue as the OP. Playing the SIMPLE campaign, now into July 2084; have accomplished ~20 terror missions; no interceptions and no opportunities to salvage UFOs (even after terror missions where a Harvester was present).