Gameplay,
* One idea for future releases would be to include a "veteran status" much the same way something like your firing accuracy is improved after a few missions. I think veteran status should be influenced by only a couple of things, first being injured in battle should push up your VS, obviously number of missions completed, and number of kills. I hate it when one of my original vets is killed, so perhaps when a soldiers VS gets to a certain level, they would have say a 35% higher chance of survival when sustaining fire. Also when a soldiers VS reaches a certain level they could be immune to panick. I think this is more simulated and a bit of a reward for keeping your guys alive!
* Another idea is a base improvement of a "training facility". Somewhere your rookie reinforcements can improve all of their skills (with exception veteran status of course) at say a quarter of the rate of a soldier in battle. So toward the end of the game when your up against all the really gnarly aliens, your not just sending out guys who are going to die at the end of the first turn, or who wont be able to shoot straight when one of your favourite vets is in trouble.
* I think alien bases are a must just like the original, but in the next version you could get lucky enough (later in the game) to spot an alien base under construction. When you send your troops into battle it should be on the surface and be basically a turkey shoot. Say ten or fifteen aliens caught unawares out in the open. A rare chance to take multiple captives or just get out the blaster canon and finish up in a single turn.
Technology,
* I personally believe that when the actual finished version of ufo is released, it would be more satisfying to kick ass with battle hardened, elite troops that you have invested time and money into, as opposed to having rookies with reverse engineered alien tech being able to blast anything that stands in their way. I think to have a soldier that can tag an alien with a snap shot, with a moderate weapon, and still have time units to be able to cover the next guy would be very satisfying indeed. I would personally like to see a greater influence on troop training and enhancements, rather than super dooper technology. So you get that underdog kind of feel but come out having mopped the floor!
* I have to say though that the blaster cannon from the original x-com defence really should make a come-back! Their could be two types of rounds you could use, the original type that just vapourises everything within a certain radius, and the second technology could be "neutron technology" so in this version of the game you can obliterate anything with a cell wall but nothing else would be destroyed.
