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1

Discussion / Re: An Open Letter to the Developers

« on: September 17, 2013, 09:31:18 am »

I've had a vague thought about idle engineers, provoked largely by this thread.

Obviously you don't want PHALANX making a profit from manufacture and sale.  That's a design decision and it's already been made.  However, at the same time it feels to the player like we're paying 20+ highly trained engineers to play Galaga all day.  They're part of a military organization; if they don't have anything to do, something to do *can* be found.  Why not have idle engineers with available workshop space cut out some of the cost of facility and aircraft maintenance?  Not necessarily so much as to make pumping a base full of engineers economically advantageous, just enough to justify not firing them all early game when you don't have much for them to do?

2

Feature Requests / Re: Cybernetics / tactical ideas.

« on: June 17, 2013, 09:28:01 pm »

I've seen the implant proposals now, but I disagree with most.  Some of them (especially the chemical injectors) strike me as needlessly cybernetic.  If I were a PHALANX R&D guy tasked with creating stimpacks, I'd build the injector into the soldiers' armor rather than installing it permanently inside the soldier.  That way, if the injector gets shot, we don't have a soldier completely wigging out on amphetamines and dying of an overdose.  Also, I'd certainly hope that the combat drugs of the future have been formulated to minimize addiction and withdrawal symptoms; with the permanent drawbacks from using them, I can't see myself ever even installing some of those implants.  To me, the point of using such a system in the first place would be to keep a useful soldier alive; if the soldier winds up alive but no longer useful, the system is flawed.

(Obviously) I like the concept behind the emergency repair implant, but I'm not sure how it's supposed to function - I know how I'd do it but I've been assuming that advanced nanotech is beyond PHALANX's current tech level.  I'd build something like that into powered armor also - with the internal gel already behaving in semi-intelligent manner, having it staunch external bleeding should be built right into it.

I find myself feeling an inordinate distaste towards the physiological implants as written.  Lore-wise, the UN is powerful in the game's setting; implants that turn soldiers into hulking brutes would be explicitly banned, and implants that make a soldier brainy but unable to carry any gear into combat doesn't seem to have a point.  Retinal augmentation is a puzzler as well; it makes a soldier more able to perceive threats but greatly harms the soldier's ability to respond to those threats.  Gameplay-wise, I can't see myself using any of the physiological implants. 

Essentially, as the current proposal is written, I'd have an emergency recovery implant and a psi implant in every one of my soldiers.  The others would never get touched.  I'm sure that other players would use the other implants and would probably do so to great effect at times, but they don't fit my playing style in the slightest.


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Fifth implant type:

A Coordination implant requires significant amounts of training and in-the-field practice to use properly.  It provides a wireless communication suite, allowing for radio-based 'telepathic' communication between soldiers.  With experience, soldiers learn to converse faster than would normally be humanly possible, functioning almost as one.  The coordination implant's effects are more profound for each extra soldier with the implant on the battlefield.  The extra input received by coordinated soldiers can provide a massive boost to accuracy.

Effect:  Each soldier with a coordination implant that can currently see any specific enemy applies a (Mind/10)% bonus to accuracy towards other, similarly augmented soldiers' shots at that same enemy.  The bonus does not apply to the soldier's own chance to hit.

3

Feature Requests / Re: Cybernetics / tactical ideas.

« on: June 17, 2013, 05:21:17 am »

Give a soldier super strength, and super speed.. result is say double time units or 60 TU's but because of the operational invasiveness , poor guy is so ramped/jacked up, he can't sit still for a second and thus ( hello shaky) takes an accuracy hit... or truer to real life, the soldier can enter a mode with super accuracy / TU ( in the UFC they describe as explosive??) but the natural mode is conservative and comparatively lethargic to your average soldier.

I'm disinclined towards the min/max style of implants, but that's just be my take on the topic. 

Regarding this http://ufoai.org/wiki/Gameplay_Proposals/Psionic_warfare#Psionic_Abilities_.28Phalanx.29  , it seems the Holo-grenade ( totally awesome BTW)  would need more then just an IR signature or visual rep, but some sorta emulator ( to run a fake mind) ??

I'd missed that, but that actually fills in the question of 'why does the holo-grenade need a cyborg anyway?' quite neatly.  The cyborg provides the mental link that causes it to show up as a mind.  Without the cyborg, the grenade just doesn't work.  Also, I think 'spoof grenade' is a better name than 'holo-grenade' - it uses more and different techniques than just holograms.

Third and fourth implant types:

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A Progression implant can be vital to a soldier's advancement, but requires training - and some other sacrifices.  This implant records everything that the soldier says or does.  While the soldier sleeps, the implant creates a simulation out of the recordings and draws the soldier into a semi-lucid dream state.  In this state, the soldier reviews his actions and decisions, gaining a second chance to learn from each mission.  Optionally, the implant can trigger the releases of steroids and electrically stimulate muscle growth as well.  The effective result is that the soldier gains skill faster, but the nature of the implant has a significant negative impact on morale.  After all, the soldier knows that he's going to be seeing all of this again in his dreams.

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A Kinetics/Perception implant can save a soldier's life.  The implant wirelessly syncs to a pair of sensors worn on the soldier's shoulders.  When the advanced threat recognition software detects an enemy, the soldier's attention is drawn to it by HUD markers, improving her field of view without tampering with her eyes.  Additionally, if the software detects imminent danger, it momentarily imbues its user with superhuman reflexes.  K/P augmented soldiers will automatically, on being shot at (and if able), attempt to dodge - even on enemy turn.  This includes dropping prone or entering another square.  Movement is random except in the case of a melee attack, in which case the soldier steps away from the attacker, possibly causing the attacker to miss and waste their TUs. 

Not every dodge will be from an attack that would have hit, nor into a square that's safe.  The result of moving the soldier's body faster than should be possible is muscle damage, but never includes bleeding wounds.

4

Feature Requests / Cybernetics / tactical ideas.

« on: June 17, 2013, 03:30:44 am »

I did a search for other discussion of cybernetics and found very little.  Since it's something I write about, I thought I'd throw out some ideas and see if they stick.

First, the aim of cybernetic enhancements is to add more tactical options and advantages to soldiers - things that can't be delivered by other means.  You wouldn't pull out a soldier's eyes to add infrared vision if that soldier can just put on IR goggles, nor would you replace his arms when he can be sent off to the gym to exercise more. 

Second, PHALANX's goal with cybernetic augmentation is to take a different tack in the war.  Stealing enemy technology for weapons, armor, psionics, etc is trying to beat the enemy at their own game; as the enemy neglects useful cybernetic augmentation of their own troops, turning to augmentation of PHALANX soldiers is attempting to change the rules.

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With that in mind, the first implant I'd like to propose is a Suspension system.  A suspension system uses perfluorcarbon solutions to provide emergency oxygen to the bloodstream in order to stave off brain death until medical intervention can (hopefully) repair whatever damage caused the system to turn on.  Development of it arises naturally from the ideas presented in the Alien Breathing Apparatus. 

Soldiers with a suspension system implanted are less likely to die when disabled by damage to the limbs or torso.  These soldiers will still require lengthy recovery times but their odds of making it to a hospital in the first place are much greater than unaugmented soldiers.  Unfortunately, a suspension system is relatively invasive, and is not compatible with any other implants.

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The second implant is coupled with a line of external devices.  I expect them to be named something better later but for now I'm referring to them as holo-grenades.  These devices visually resemble caltrops; technically they can function like them, but the shape was settled on only to make sure that at least one prong was facing upwards when the device is thrown.

Once the grenade lands, it projects an image of a PHALANX soldier onto a nearby surface (or smoke cloud), drawing fire away from real soldiers, possibly even triggering reaction fire.  On its own, the grenade lacks the processing power to have its 'soldier' behave realistically, and the nature of the aliens means that the more enemies seeing it, the less likely that any of them will bite.  Sheevar can only be fooled by upgraded models (requiring laser tech to provide enough heat for an IR signature).

A soldier augmented with a Distraction suite (requirement: Hovernet autopsy), however, can learn to manipulate the image produced by the grenade.  With a cyborg soldier controlling the image, it reacts realistically to its environment, including enemy fire, and is significantly more likely to actually work.  At higher skill and technology levels, PHALANX can even produce mobile drones, shoulder-mounted projectors, and the like, all to draw fire away from precious soldiers. 

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Obviously rough draft material.  I might be able to come up with more, but how are these sounding?