Messages

31

Feature Requests / Bloodmantis

« on: March 08, 2010, 01:20:20 pm »

Bloodmantis

First appearing some time after humans begin deploying homegrown alien tech gear and stunning weapons,  this creature is actually a heavily upgraded version of the bloodspider robot... but the resemblance to the terrestrial praying mantis is such as to cause the few surviving witnesses to wonder just how closely the aliens are studying other forms of life on Earth besides humans.

Structure: The bloodmantis is based on a larger, elongated version of the bloodspider chassis supported on four limbs near the front with an additional elongated body segment rearing up from above the front area where the harvested organs are stored. This near-vertical segment has a pair of "arms" near the top and is capped off with a triangular "head" equipped with variety of sensors.

To be clear, the harvested biomass is still stored in the front of the main section just as with the bloodspider so the apparent "mouth" would be where the two segments join. The upper segment "arms" and "head" mount weapons and sensors respectively.

(Stephen King, I've learned much from you... )

Weapons: 

Bloodsabre: The two "arms" each terminate in a sizable curved monomolecular blade and the blades can fold back against the "forearms" in a manner very akin to its terrestrial counterpart, but that's also where the bloodmantis sports a nasty surprise...

Shocker Gun: ...  unlike the earthly mantis this folding action exposes the muzzles of a pair of electromagnetic projectile weapons buried in the "wrists" of the bloodmantis. These weapons hurl beads constructed of alien materials that are essentially flying Leyden jars... small capacitors charged up as they are fired from the weapon and delivering a stunning shock when they hit a target. The bloodmantis can adjust the strength of the charge imparted to each bead and thus can vary the shock as needed... from stunning a pesky Phalanx trooper to incapacitating a pesky Phalanx UGV.

And the bloodmantis is smart... it won't waste its beads on civilians when there are enemy combatants in the area.

Armed, armored and much tougher than the bloodspider... but has anyone got a better name for it than "bloodmantis"?

32

Feature Requests / Plasma and the Alien Minefield

« on: March 08, 2010, 06:35:42 am »

Yep... actual plasma this time and deadly to boot.

To be more precise, a plasmoid: a self-supporting structure of plasma and magnetic fields that, like a smoke ring, can maintain itself for a limited period of time. These exist in real life in forms both natural and artificial.

The weapon concept is derived from the plasmoid hypothesis that has been put forward as a possible explanation for a certain natural phenomenon that is itself often incorrectly cited as an rationalization for using plasma as a projectile weapon... ball lightning.

Ball lightning- rare, intermittent, transitory and not well understood. If it is indeed a naturally-occurring plasmoid then perhaps it can give us an alien plasma weapon that burns, shocks and even explodes... not from the plasma itself so much but from the fact that plasmoids can carry one heck of a charge.

The damage types would be burn, electrical shock, EMP, and concussion.

Again: not a good projectile weapon. DARPA attempts to utilize the concept involved extreme compression of the plasmoid and then accelerating it to OMFG speeds in order to get it to the target before the plasma dispersed. (OMFG is a technical term referring to speeds between 200 and 3000 kilometers per second.)

(Then again... depending on the mass of the plasmoid the recoil from that might make a plasma pistol into a very deadly projectile weapon indeed... )

*ahem* back to the subject...

So an alien minefield could generate plasmoids as an effective deterrent to ground troops because the generators would not be throwing the plasmoids anywhere... the humans would be forced to come to the generators.

And there are a variety of different ways of implementing this concept that could make life very interesting for those pesky humans... and perhaps very short.

For these concepts the generators consist of a base unit about 25 cm sq with three legs. It extends an antenna-like meter-high mast at the tip of which the plasmoid forms.

• Hide and Seek Generators:
  The buried generator only sticks up a mast when a human moves into an adjacent square, and then retracts the mast after the plasmoid is loosed. And then it moves a square, alternating between burrowing directly to the new site and getting up, walking to the new square and then reburying itself.
  
  
• Dances with Plasmoids:
  An array of generators keeps a plasmoid constantly aloft, with the ball drifting unpredictably from mast to mast as it is recharged. Great fun when combined with hide and seek generators.
  
  
• Plasmoids as NPCs:
  A variant of Dances with Plasmoids where an array of generators collectively senses the nearest human(s) and generates plasmoids which then migrate to the edge of the minefield waiting for the humans to come near. As the humans move the plasmoids move with them. In this case the generators stay put, letting the plasmoids do the walking.
  
  

Other ideas?

33

Design / Re: Plasma and the Nitpickers

« on: March 07, 2010, 10:51:23 am »

I think I get it now.  So the basic principle is that this weapon is a nanoengineered alien water balloon containing superheated alien material that bursts on contact.  Seems to work okay.

Yep... or a somewhat more dignified analogy would be to the heated shot that was once fired from blackpowder cannon

I was going to add a fancier armor-piercing configuration to the core but that's overkill... the plasma-substitute would just burn through the armor, with the "plasma" trapped between the detonating core and the armor getting extra impetus in that direction.

That just leaves the question of fire modes.  Particularly the "Ball" mode on the plasma blaster.  Is this done by adjusting the composition of the core material?  Something about the shell?  Or is there some other mechanism that I'm not aware of?

Well, as the "Ball" mode uses 10 rounds of ammo per shot I'd suggest we take it literally... 10 pellets are heated in the firing mechanism and fused into one humongous projectile, primed and tossed at the target where the 10 bundled cores go off at once. The weapon's certainly big enough for that.

34

Design / Re: Plasma and the Nitpickers

« on: March 06, 2010, 10:26:20 pm »

So, lemme see if I can construct a diagram to explain your idea visually, zapkitty...
Is this correct?  Did I miss any details?

I don't see much nowadays and it took me a while to make out your drawings and text but from what I gather apparently my clarification needs a clarification

So, let's simplify:

Forget carbon nanotubes. CNTs were just a paw-waving excuse to avoid having plasma flamethrowers directly result from deciphering the alien plasma gun. If the devs want to prevent that they can wave their paws as vigorously as I can

Same goes for the decomposing ammunition.

What's left?

A layered pellet of dense alien compounds. The layers are the outer shell, the "plasma" substitute, and a core that will expand explosively when the projectile impacts.

There is no battery in the pellets. As with the current in-game plasma weapons the battery is in the magazine along with the pellets.

In the amazingly simplified drawing below:

1: The weapon with its grip to the right
2: The magazine, which contains....
3: .... the battery and...
4: .... the pellets.
5: The firing mechanism which heats and primes a pellet.
6: The primed pellet being violently yanked to the left by the propelling mechanisms contained in the two "prongs" of the weapon. This acceleration further heats the pellet to the brink.
It expands. The only thing holding the swollen orb together is the nanoengineered surface tension properties of the now-liquid outer shell.

And then it hits somebody and the volatile core material says "enough is enough"...

.... did that make sense?

35

Feature Requests / Re: Automatic weapons upgrades? .... and also ammo as a weapon function?...

« on: March 06, 2010, 09:34:22 pm »

And what are those "battle rifles" of yours supposed to be? High caliber ARs? I'm sorry that's impossible unless you want to treat your soldiers with dislodged shoulder after they try to fire burst from it.

Well. they did try to adapt the classic battle rifle's 30.06 rounds to an assault rifle format when AR's were first being introduced and those didn't dislocate shoulders... but neither could the troops hit anything when firing bursts...

36

Feature Requests / Re: Automatic weapons upgrades? .... and also ammo as a weapon function?...

« on: March 05, 2010, 05:13:51 pm »

Goal: Keep all the weapons as acceptable options in the game instead of allowing them to become useless. Let the player make the choice of what to field against the aliens. 

That's a little broad, I think... It's unlikely that the 9mm pistol or even the assault rifle would be upgraded to tackle medium armor

But keeping a broader viable inventory would be fun.

And if the devs feel that the alien weapons array needs more variety that's always an option... I've got a couple weird ideas

37

Tactics / Re: What's a good 2.3 squad loadout?

« on: March 05, 2010, 04:27:41 pm »

@Captain Skill

But wouldn't it be cool if you had a choice of suitable weapons to choose from? I fond it boring to use 3 weapons in a game which features like 20 weapons.

So what I wish for is: more weapons that are good enough to stand against medium alien armour.

Unfortunately, lasers and all the standard weapons available from the game start become more or less useless.

Re-engineering the existing standard weapons with alien technology and/or alien material ammunition has already been suggested.

Andy

As we've ventured into "Feature Request" territory I've put up an idea in that thread...
http://ufoai.ninex.info/forum/index.php?topic=4509.0

38

Feature Requests / Automatic weapons upgrades? .... and also ammo as a weapon function?...

« on: March 05, 2010, 04:25:41 pm »

In order to keep more of the games variety of human-style weapons as valid playing options later in the game would it be possible to have certain research projects automatically upgrade similar technologies that are used in existing weapons?

An example: the side effects of coilgun power supply research and alien materials studies results in an enhanced magazine being available for bolter rifles that increases selected bolter stats with little or no extra research needed.

And speaking of bolters I noticed that ammunition capacity is a function of the weapon itself, and not of the magazine. It seems contradictory and in the case of the bolter does not allow the increase in ammo capacity that would naturally come with more efficient power supplies in the magazine.

It does seem odd and it gets in the way of implementing the banana clips for the full-auto coilguns
 

39

Feature Requests / Re: Nations taking more active role based on happiness

« on: March 04, 2010, 11:14:57 pm »

I think it could go like that, though with the "aliens landed with no civ casualties" instead being slightly negative. If you had pursued it, they would not have landed in the first place (after all, they trust you to protect them, letting one slip can be understood as ignoring your objective).

I wondered about that too, but it would really depend on what game balance needs are when everything is said and done... perhaps this event would be given more weight at higher difficulty levels?

Should you actually gain a bit of happiness if you go check false ones too? Since that shows that you are actually doing something for their protection even if that specific one turned out to be false.

... and less weight for doing that at higher difficulty?

40

Bugs prior to release 2.3 / Re: PB grenade bounced out of map, soldier in the center of the map died

« on: March 04, 2010, 11:02:40 pm »

which map was it and where did it happen? it's e.g. possible that a "removed" grenade would be set back to world origin 0,0,0 and did the damage there after it was "removed"

... zombie grenade is zombie...

41

Feature Requests / Re: Nations taking more active role based on happiness

« on: March 03, 2010, 11:08:35 am »

gameplay effects?...

Should a nation's chance of signaling a ghost be dependent on higher happiness? Might not a worried nation, more stressed out, be more likely to have reports... even if the reports are as likely (or more likely?) to be swamp gas?

A nation's chance of good reports should be based on... what? Or equal distribution?

So if a report is genuine that's a flag on the UFO tied to the reporting nation? (and each subsequent reporting nation?).

A report that results in an eventual shootdown is a +happiness modifier?

A shootdown with no civ casualties on cleanup is also a +...?

A shootdown with civ casualties... c'est la vie and judged normally?

No shootdown is neutral?

Aliens landed with no civ casualties is neutral?

Aliens landed with civ casualties... worse h modifier than usual?

42

Feature Requests / Re: Nations taking more active role based on happiness

« on: March 02, 2010, 05:31:24 pm »

If memory serves, most of those active roles have been declined (don't count on my memory though) but the refuel and radar are new, I think. And I kinda like both.

Your version of iffy "possible sightings" is neat, especially if there's a happiness penalty if the player disregards a nation's sighting report if that report turns out to be an actual precursor to an alien raid.

And current events give plenty of backdrop to the importance  of the concept refueling rights... even if a nation hosts a Phalanx base the local military could get sticky about usage of their own bases.

43

Discussion / Re: Coilgun best weapon in Close Quarter Combat - human cqc weapon?

« on: February 25, 2010, 11:21:04 am »

Another proposed CQC upgrade for an existing human weapon...

... but this would actually require a model change so I don't know...

... using all the new materials tech to replace the handle of the monomolecular blade with a telescoping shaft that extends instantly upon command. The result would be akin to the naginata of medieval Japan and would multiply the damage and the range of the blade.

No, it's not a Minbari fighting pike and I don't know why they'd pick a fight with a fish anyway...

44

Discussion / Re: Coilgun best weapon in Close Quarter Combat - human cqc weapon?

« on: February 25, 2010, 10:35:29 am »

No new weapons... and yet weapons currently under development or actually in use make the game milieu of what was once "current weapons" pale in comparison. D/F lasers wouldn't stand a chance against solid state laser rifles that out-range and out-power them. Weapons that use plasma for propellant or even use it as a power source for advanced projectiles once they reach the target. Current thermobaric 25mm shells that make the grenade launcher's pb rounds look ridiculously weak.

UFO:AI is a great effort but it wouldn't hurt to admit that it's background tech is a bit dated in some respects.

But, working within said milieu, the infinitely sharp broken shards from the first attempts to make monomolecular  blades gives some bright tech an idea and he improvises a process to make even smaller pieces which he puts edge-on into a nanocomposite cup sabot round for a shotgun... and a very deadly short range weapon results.

But shotguns aren't a new weapon, so... 

45

Design / Plasma and the Spaceships (Was Re: Antimatter-propelled aircraft

« on: February 25, 2010, 10:02:02 am »

Hmmm... I'm knee-deep in tracking the last remnant of the zombie bug (or should I say "last revenant of the zombie bug"? ) but there's real-world data that's applicable here...

Ion thrusters are highly effective but also very slow. Quite simply, nothing would fly in atmosphere with them.

But if the ions bring lots of friends with them they become a plasma... and a plasma drive can have both the high specific impulse (I_sp) that ion drives are famous for and the high thrust-to-weight ratio of nuclear thermal rockets (NTR)... if you have a sufficiently awesome power source.

And proton-antiproton reactions actually produce lots of pions along with the gamma output... and such pions can be directly converted to an awesome electrical power source.

Awesome heat... awesome electrical fields... all that's needed is a magnetic nozzle ala VASIMR and something to ionize.

In atmosphere it'd be the air, of course. In vacuum it could well be anything... because it wouldn't take much of anything. A bit of nitrogen dumped from life support, or maybe fins of alien materials lining the exhaust channels that the magnetic nozzles can expand to include once the ship is in vacuum... an alien version of a thrust augmentation nozzle (TAN).

If this was the explanation then there'd be no big tanks to find... just a small life support outlet leading to the engines and some missing N2... or those somewhat eroded fins around the engine exhaust channels...

This could lead to a bit of fun integration... the spikes on the alien ships could, among their other functions, serve as plasma aerosurface generators... and then funnel some of the entrained air into engine intakes. So the ufos actually would field more aerosurfaces than their physical structures would indicate and yet the Phalanx antimatter-powered craft could still be more optimized for aerial maneuverability than the alien spacecraft.

All known stuff... see Robert Forward's antimatter drive ideas, a working VASIMR prototype has been contracted for installation on ISS and plasma aerosurfaces are used on military aircraft that are flying now.

Just make it all insanely overpowered, over-miniaturized and constructed with alien sensibilities.

Edit: BTW, why the sudden change? Weren't mass-tanks the fix idea? Why suddenly ions?

For an antimatter-cranked plasma drive you wouldn't even need big tanks