UFO:Alien Invasion

Technical support => Feature Requests => Topic started by: White_Cat on September 01, 2009, 06:22:58 pm

Title: Armour names
Post by: White_Cat on September 01, 2009, 06:22:58 pm
Okay so the types of armor I encountered in the game are:
The naming is a bit strange... So what makes "Medium Alien Armour" the "medium" armour? How do scientists know there is a heavier armour at the time of research? A different name would fix it. :)

Also are there plans for more kinds of human armor? Nanocomposite is hardly effective against later weapons.

Also is there an actual list out there for the ufopedia on which research & items actually do anything... No offense but I do not want to spend time testing incomplete stuff that isn't supposed to work at all, yet.. :)
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: Destructavator on September 01, 2009, 06:29:21 pm
Try looking at the UFO: AI wiki, the link to it is in the menu right on the front page of the project website, and it answers just about all of your questions.

http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: White_Cat on September 01, 2009, 07:14:26 pm
Try looking at the UFO: AI wiki, the link to it is in the menu right on the front page of the project website, and it answers just about all of your questions.

http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Unfortunately the wiki is rather difficult to navigate. :)

Could you be a bit more specific with the "in the menu right" reference?

Oh and the wiki is sometimes misleading. I am supposed to be able to drive UVGs.... Can't even load them to craft...
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: Destructavator on September 01, 2009, 09:05:00 pm
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Unfortunately the wiki is rather difficult to navigate.

I'm a bit baffled and confused as to where your difficulty lies - I've been in there plenty of times and I've found it rather easy to browse and well organized.  It also has a search function on the left pane that has never been a cause of aggravation for me - it usually lists what I'm looking for in the top results when I use it.

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Could you be a bit more specific with the "in the menu right" reference?

I'm a bit surprised by this one as well.  I'm not trying to be nasty or insulting when I do this, but I don't know any other way, so I'll spell it out as simple and clear as I can:

Here is the main front page for the project:

http://ufoai.sourceforge.net/

Notice the horizontal menu at the top, starting with "Home" on the left, going all the way to "Contact" at the end.

The link for the wiki is right smack there in that menu next to "Forum."  (This is what you're in now, the forum.)  If you hit "Media," you've gone too far.  If you click on the tab in between those two - labeled "Wiki" - that takes you to where you want to go.

Again, I'm not trying to be condescending or nasty, but I don't know how to explain it any simpler or make it any easier.

P.S. - Once in the wiki, click on "Equipment" then "Armour" and you'll get the page that talks about the armor types.
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: White_Cat on September 01, 2009, 11:04:16 pm
I'm a bit baffled and confused as to where your difficulty lies - I've been in there plenty of times and I've found it rather easy to browse and well organized.  It also has a search function on the left pane that has never been a cause of aggravation for me - it usually lists what I'm looking for in the top results when I use it.

I'm a bit surprised by this one as well.  I'm not trying to be nasty or insulting when I do this, but I don't know any other way, so I'll spell it out as simple and clear as I can:

Here is the main front page for the project:

http://ufoai.sourceforge.net/

Notice the horizontal menu at the top, starting with "Home" on the left, going all the way to "Contact" at the end.

The link for the wiki is right smack there in that menu next to "Forum."  (This is what you're in now, the forum.)  If you hit "Media," you've gone too far.  If you click on the tab in between those two - labeled "Wiki" - that takes you to where you want to go.

Again, I'm not trying to be condescending or nasty, but I don't know how to explain it any simpler or make it any easier.

P.S. - Once in the wiki, click on "Equipment" then "Armour" and you'll get the page that talks about the armor types.

Umm... I think my main complaint was armor names...

I know how to navigate a wiki. But for example the site talks about a "Heavy Nanoplate Suit". Is that included in the game? I can't tell. What do I need to do to research it? Is http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/images/Research_tree.png accurate? If so I have researched "Alien Medium Armour" and "Heavy Nanoplate Suit" did not show...

So wiki is a bit misleading on that... There should be a list showing what is actually in the game and what is actually usable.

Areal laser cannons are usable and are in the game...
UGVs are in the game and are NOT usable...

Stuff like that...
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: Thyranim on September 01, 2009, 11:18:28 pm
But for example the site talks about a "Heavy Nanoplate Suit". Is that included in the game? I can't tell. What do I need to do to research it? Is http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/images/Research_tree.png accurate? If so I have researched "Alien Medium Armour" and "Heavy Nanoplate Suit" did not show...

As you can see in the legend on the lower right of the picture
"Heavy Nanoplate Suit" is "planned out, but not yet included in the game"
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: White_Cat on September 02, 2009, 01:16:46 am
As you can see in the legend on the lower right of the picture
"Heavy Nanoplate Suit" is "planned out, but not yet included in the game"


Right but areal laser canons and base defense cannons do not have a yellow box either... Updating an image is difficult. :) Perhaps a list could be better.

My other point (why the second alien armor is named "medium") stands :P
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: gerald on September 02, 2009, 02:54:44 am
Right but areal laser canons and base defense cannons do not have a yellow box either... Updating an image is difficult. :) Perhaps a list could be better.

My other point (why the second alien armor is named "medium") stands :P
mate but what the problem in that name ??
usually if kind of armour is bit heavier than standard we call it medium what wrong with that .
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: White_Cat on September 02, 2009, 03:10:26 am
mate but what the problem in that name ??
usually if kind of armour is bit heavier than standard we call it medium what wrong with that .


Indeed. But it is the heavies armor we humans encountered (until we encounter something heavier) is always the heaviest... How did the scientists deduce that there was a heavier armor just by staring at one armor? If it were called the "new alien armor" or something more fancy it would make sense... In UFO:AFTERMATH for example they named armor as

As you can see armor names don't make any outrageous claims on claiming there is something better (or nothing better).

See my point?
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: Imposeren on September 02, 2009, 08:45:34 am
I can understand you. You mean that scientist can;t know in adwance if there will be lighter or heavier aliens armors, so real scientsts wouldn't give them such names

Light armor can be realy named so by Scientists if it cover small amounts of body.
Another armors can be named in same manner: Full Armor, Full 2-layered Armor, etc.
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: Thyranim on September 02, 2009, 09:44:28 am
"medium" like "half body" and not "medium-thick" ?
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: gerald on September 02, 2009, 12:24:24 pm
Indeed. But it is the heavies armor we humans encountered (until we encounter something heavier) is always the heaviest... How did the scientists deduce that there was a heavier armor just by staring at one armor? If it were called the "new alien armor" or something more fancy it would make sense... In UFO:AFTERMATH for example they named armor as
  • Basic Alien Armor <- Basic? How the heck do you know there is something better?
  • Sun Armor
  • Sky Armor
  • Bio Armor

As you can see armor names don't make any outrageous claims on claiming there is something better (or nothing better).

See my point?
[/list]
but its no ufo aftermatch also ....from what i know
and i really think game have as for now much more important troubles to fix .
from what scientists can know that?from history for example check names of our historical armours its light then medium then heavy basically i say so its no place bout details of medieval stuff.
u ask why just so humans if dunno sumfin try compare that to sumfin they know and is normal think they do that with names of armours also.
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: criusmac on September 02, 2009, 01:11:26 pm
I agree with the white one on this. The armor name "Medium Alien Armor" is a poor name, until possibly when you've researched other armors. Other games have fixed this, perhaps they noticed the problem before?

To see your researchers name something medium alien armor does suggest they know about heavier alien armor, and lighter alien armor... Which just shouldn't be the case. This is an easy problem to fix though, right? It's just renaming some armors in the scripts.
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: Hertzila on September 02, 2009, 03:50:21 pm
I also agree with the White_Cat on this. The alien armors should be named dynamically with first being just Alien Armo(u)r and after finding something to compare to they can call it something relative to that.
I have to say however that if the armor looks, protects and functions similiarly to some human armor they should call it with it's name. Suppose they find an armor that is light weight, manouverable (seen in action) and protects relatively lighty (relative to alien weapons) then it is logical to assume it's a basic or light armor.
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: Destructavator on September 02, 2009, 04:02:50 pm
Yes, this is a valid point, I also agree - In light of this I think the names for alien armor should be changed somehow.
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: Gunner on September 04, 2009, 11:01:28 am
Okay so the types of armor I encountered in the game are:
  • Combat Armor
  • Nanocomposite Armor
  • Alien body Armor
  • Medium Alien Armor

The naming is a bit strange... So what makes "Medium Alien Armour" the "medium" armour? How do scientists know there is a heavier armour at the time of research? A different name would fix it. :)

Also are there plans for more kinds of human armor? Nanocomposite is hardly effective against later weapons.

Also is there an actual list out there for the ufopedia on which research & items actually do anything... No offense but I do not want to spend time testing incomplete stuff that isn't supposed to work at all, yet.. :)

well you could say the same about every item in the game really when you find a plasma pistol how do you know it A works with plasma and B is a pistol.

now Xcome named everything Alien Artefact until it was researched. but even in the stores they had to geve then the proper names.

the simple fact is that humans to be able to identify the items with out that the game is unplayable. would it be any better if you had Alien Armour Type 2? when you might not find type 1 until after type 2?

jyust take it as read that in the attacks that occurred in the intro we saw the aliens with 3 or more types of armour and we know that this is the medium one that we have captured
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: shevegen on September 08, 2009, 01:32:37 pm
I mean, I can understand this small problem. At a given time, the scientists cant know if there are not much larger aliens which bigger armour.

On the other hand, what other name should they use?

"Alien body Armor"
"Reinforced Alien body Armor"

Other items like the plasma pistol are not so problematic, because a plasma pistol (or at least a pistol) will remain this way always, whereas a "medium" armour should depend on the wearer. An alien that is 20 metres high and has 40 tentacles couldn't wear such a "medium" armour, but it might be able to wield that pistol with... perhaps using 2 or 3 tentacles ;)


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the simple fact is that humans to be able to identify the items with out that the game is unplayable

I mean, there are more important things than this, but - I dont think you should generalize here for every item. The weapon of aliens aren't so spectacular. We can assume that humans at least have imagination, and can differ between weapons and armours of aliens (well... at least up to the point where something is both a weapon and armour... but i dont think we have any of that in game)

It appears to me that this small discussion can quickly be stopped with another name but the thread starter didn't suggest any alternative to the current name.
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A different name would fix it.

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would it be any better if you had Alien Armour Type 2? when you might not find type 1 until after type 2?
I think that sounds even more stupid. Reinforced, or improved, or advanced would be better names. Or how about "alien combat armour"?

But ok, discussing about names is kinda stupid ... can't we go to something more interesting. ;)

Come to think about it, are there plans about organic-type armours? With this i mean armour that can "heal" itself.
It does not necessarily need to be organic, come to think about it, i just thought it cool if some stronger aliens could heal damaged armour... though actually, if i think about it, there are a lot of other things more important anyway..... pfft, armour :P
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: geever on September 08, 2009, 01:41:39 pm
Come to think about it, are there plans about organic-type armours? With this i mean armour that can "heal" itself.
It does not necessarily need to be organic, come to think about it, i just thought it cool if some stronger aliens could heal damaged armour... though actually, if i think about it, there are a lot of other things more important anyway..... pfft, armour :P

I don't think armour (or any other item) get damaged at all, so yes we have this already. :P

-geever
Title: Re: Armour names
Post by: Montague on November 13, 2009, 01:06:46 am
I can imagine the scientists discussing this to the leadership types.

"This is the most advanced armor in the world, the absolute best body armor humanity has ever developed. Medium Alien Armor. Its called that because its made from alien stuff, and although the plates are thicker then the armor you have now, we could make the plates thicker, but we chose not too. Hence, Medium, because we just made the plates medium-thickness compared to how thick we could have made them. We will need another research grant if you want us to design you Alien Armor thicker then this. Don't get me wrong, its pretty thick, but I think with enough money we could probably make it thicker."