Messages

16

Feature Requests / Re: Variant starts for 2 level bases

« on: November 01, 2013, 08:05:44 pm »

>> Well the building still have a cost and you still have limited starting funds I don't see how it wouldn't work with the difficulty system

Your first base is predefined partly to ensure that new players get everything they need. If you don't know you need an AC unit to be able to do anything with aliens, you might not build one, and wonder why your research never gets anywhere, or not realise a workshop is 2x1 until you try to buy one and realise they don't have anywhere to put it

17

Design / Re: Alien Containment Unit

« on: October 30, 2013, 05:28:58 pm »

>> , otherwise they would have no inherant value.

Anything rare has value. I guarantee that about 20 mins after the alien invasion, recipes for Tamanburgers would have appeared on the Interwebs. In real life, people eat/drink bird spit (swallow nests), fried insects, coffee that has first passed through a cat, cheese that has first passed through a maggot and the fluffy bits inside crocuses (which have sometimes cost more than gold, weight for weight)

18

Feature Requests / Re: on capturing live aliens

« on: October 30, 2013, 04:47:28 pm »

>> - "reprogram" aliens with an artificial hive mind to transforming one of the ufos you gathered as additional fighter

When implants get implemented, I could see the potential for a 2 part system, where a captured alien and a human "handler" have complementary implants, allowing the human to "drive" the implanted alien. Want to know whats round that corner? Send the Taman. Want to breach that building you know has at least 2 aliens in? Send the Ortnok. Also, Remote Control Bloodspiders. I want one

19

Feature Requests / Re: Variant starts for 2 level bases

« on: October 30, 2013, 04:41:32 pm »

>> Maybee it should be like it was a while ago? When you first built a base, you could freely place buildings with no buid time.

That would work too, but part of the point was to work with the difficulty system, so there is more differentiation between easy and hard campaigns. For easy campaigns you'd get a free or nearly free choice, and can select a base that fits your playstyle and plan right from the start, for harder difficulty levels you might have to spend a while upgrading your first base before expanding, which obviously has implications for your long term performance

>> What role are UAV's intended to play? Light combat craft? Scouts?

Someone (Destructavator?) was working on a new air interception module that would make that part of the game much more involved, potentially allowing real tactical play, so you could gang up a load of weak interceptors on a Harvester, and actually kill them before PB weapons etc, allow the aliens to escort non-combat vessels with fighters. UAVs would be really quite useful then

20

Discussion / Re: Finished game on 2.5 Hard mode. Thoughts and experiences.

« on: October 28, 2013, 01:25:47 pm »

>> I think that my objection to the way EP ammo is handled is that it is supposed to be an armor penetrator that explodes during penetration. Which is fine but even armor penetrators are still affected by armor and this round isn't.

From the fluff text, I had assumed EP ammo was more like HEAT rounds, striking armour, then letting a mini plasma blade off. As such, its performance is fine, as armour that can't stop it dead is all equally ineffective

21

Discussion / Re: Finished game on 2.5 Hard mode. Thoughts and experiences.

« on: October 24, 2013, 08:41:40 pm »

>> In my play style lasers compete against sniper rifles rather than against plasma rifles, and they lose in that comparison.

Yeah, lasers are a bit of an oddity, halfway between the sniper and rifle lines. Laser rifles really reward experienced soldiers, and I've found Assault XP to be easier to grind than Sniper XP, so I generally find that my LR troopers hit more often than my snipers, especially if I remember to crouch them 

At the moment, I'm actually using heavy lasers as replacements for machine guns, because I have several very good Assault troopers who can't manage Nanocomposite armour and an MG load. Deadly

22

Feature Requests / Variant starts for 2 level bases

« on: October 24, 2013, 06:05:16 pm »

When 2 level bases are implemented, what about different base layouts being made available for the initial base? Since the initial base is configurable, there could be multiple different base layouts offered to the player, eg

1) Current base (or a 2 level version)
2) Extra labs (20 or maybe 30 lab space)
3) Extra workshops
4) Extra hangars (2 interceptor and 2 dropship hangars)
5) Extra defences
6) Base : Sparta (just the required buildings and a radar, no hangars, no or little living quarters, no hospital)

and so on. Maybe some have labs or workshops, but not both, or extra defenses and extra labs, but you get less starting cash.

You could even tie in the difficulty system, where lower level games not only start with more resources, but can choose any base type freely (100% chance for all types), but as you increase difficulty, you get a more restricted choice, and maybe even just have to take what you are given (which might still be exactly the base you would have chosen, or maybe certain base types are forbidden at higher difficulties)

23

Feature Requests / Re: A few ideas for bases

« on: October 22, 2013, 12:58:31 pm »

>> Well I would prefer it not to leave, so that you have to defend your civil personnel to the last man.

Gameplay vs realism. Having lots of civves to defend is more realistic, but would make defending big bases unworkable, for several reasons

24

Feature Requests / Re: A few ideas for bases

« on: October 20, 2013, 03:55:27 pm »

I don't know if you've ever played UFO : Enemy Unknown (or X-COM: UFO Defense for merkins), but the whole point of UFO : AI is to recreate much of the feel of the timeless classic. A lot of the design decisions on how things work are explicitly replicating the mechanics of the older game, and a lot of how bases work is taken directly from the 1994 classic. Where departing from the earlier game would greatly enhance gameplay, such as two level bases and the proposed much expanded psionics system, the dev team have been ruthless in junking the old mechanics, but where change wouldn't add much, they have tried to stick as close as possible to the model.

Some of the decisions, such as base evacuations, are also a compromise between gameplay and realism, always the game designers bugbear

>> The base being empty during base attacks is just really weird especially in those bases that have like 60 personal.

True, but have you thought about how unwieldy a base defense with 60+ PHALANX actors would be? The soldier selection panel would extend down into the middle of the screen...

25

Discussion / Re: Why sometimes reaction fire not working? (2.5)

« on: October 19, 2013, 04:40:10 pm »

The plasma blaster isn't a direct "successor" for the shotgun in the same way that the pistol > plasma pistol, or AR > Plasma rifle upgrades are. I do tend to use it in the shotgun "slot" in my squads, as it uses the same skill though

26

Discussion / Re: If you could make anything you wanted out of alien materials what would you make

« on: October 19, 2013, 04:28:06 pm »

>> Hang on, doesn't Damocles have a patent on that?

<Super-pedantry-mode> Actually, Damocles was a courtier of Dionysius II of Syracuse, who made a habit of praising the king and his great fortune to excess. To demonstrate to Damocles that kingship had its downside, he ordered that they switch seats at a banquet, and had the sword suspended above Damocles by a single strand of horse hair </Super-pedantry-mode>

27

Design / Re: Alien Containment Unit

« on: October 17, 2013, 01:00:27 am »

No, the first base needs to have an alien containment unit, or it's all too likely that inexperienced players would build out their base and make it impossible to fit a containment unit, and not have funds to build another base with AC

28

Discussion / Re: Is there a way to change the order of your soldier on the roster?

« on: October 15, 2013, 08:18:44 pm »

I'm pretty sure that is controlled by the internal d/base structure, so probably not. I always rename soldiers to encode info like hit points and weapon / role, then populate the dropship with whatever mix I want for a mission

29

Discussion / Re: Are UVG usable yet?

« on: October 15, 2013, 07:30:30 pm »

I think UGVs are at least partially available in Skirmish mode, along with a couple of extra weapons, but the campaign maps need work (like the base tile issues mentioned), and the pathfinding code doesn't fully support 2x2 actors yet anyway (more an issue for the aliens)

30

Feature Requests / Re: Month end procedure

« on: October 10, 2013, 01:57:04 pm »

>> Elites are made, not purchased.

Fair point. However, the differences between even the poorest rookie and a maxed out elite is a matter of increments rather than making the elites invincible. The increases might need to be moderated a bit compared to 2.4, since 2.5 has faster skills acquisition, but then it has encumberance and bleeding wounds too. I've noticed my soldiers generally carry a lot less gear in 2.5, since it takes quite an increase over starting strength for a soldier to be able to wear armour and carry a rocket launcher and several reloads, for example.

In 2.4, I was in the habit of loading every soldiers inventory to capacity. Everyone had a medkit, assault types carried about 10 grenades in various places, some soldiers would carry spare rockets or EMR mags so the respective wielders had more choices. In the case of the RL-wielder for instance, you can have a pistol you probably won't shoot, or 3 rockets you probably will. If you know your team has a few spare rounds with them, the pistol is much more attractive again.

With the encumberance system in place, I find it's rare for a soldier with anything other than a rifle or shotgun to fill their inventory. Indeed, for a 30 strength soldier, with 15kg capacity, combat armour and a flamethrower with its basic load of 4 shots maxes out their carry capacity. And this is fine. It forces more choices about who goes on a mission, and what they take.

However, on a month end, I end up scrolling through the new soldiers, and mark 90% of them up as dross, since they don't have the skill, the strength, or both to really contribute. You take them out and they develop, but once you have a few warm bodies, it would be much more useful to get one or two soldiers with slightly higher stats. If I could have 15 random soldiers or one with guaranteed 38+ strength, and at least one weapon stat at 24+, I'd take the latter every time now