Design: UFOs

[BTAxis]

Purpose of this topic: Brainstorming UFO types, layout, armament, staff, etc. for use in the main UFO:AI game.

Preliminary ideas here.

[BTAxis]

Since alien plasma technology precedes alien fusion/tachyon technology in the game, I think the weaker/earlier UFOs should be armed with plasma weaponry.

[Killertomato]

Yes, early game UFOs should be definitly poorer equiped IMO. Not just weaponry. Also hull, shields, propulsion.

Stealthed ufos sent to establish bases or such(later detectable by better base radar)

[XCOMTurcocalypse]

X-Com style Ufo Hierarchy should be OK

1)Tiny Ufo,easily killed,good for sport
2)A bit bigger,still good for sport,but also better sport for ground mission
3)bigger,
.
.
.n)Incredi-big-f***ing Ufo,biggest fight,biggest Prize

BUT,if there is going to be a UFO fuel like Elerium(I looked at Wikipedia and IT EXISTS!At least Theoretically),allow some engines to be intact when a Ufo is shot.

[thomash833152]

Hi,

This is my first post on here, so I'll just say what a great game this is shaping up to be before I say anything else...

Anyway, UFO Design.

The way I see it, there're a few things to consider:

As you've pretty much said, you need to bring out the bigger guns (and UFOs) as the game goes on to have a sense of progress. It's easy enough to explain in the story-line too.

I think the biggest question is, are they going to run on fuel or get power by some other means? The main difference it'll make is later in the game, if you're having to get the fuel either by shooting down UFOs or in some other way.
I reckon it'd be best needing fuel, having to shoot down UFOs to collect it and later on learning to make/refine your own.

Thinking about it, you're not likely to find the fuel stored in the engine, but in a separate storage area, a fuel-tank if you will...
If the fuel's normally stable it's unlikely to be destroyed in the crash, and if it's unstable it'll be stored in special tanks to prevent it exploding.


As the maps have to be pre-rendered, how are crashed UFOs going to be handled? Presumably it's not going to be possible to have random damage to the UFOs? I think if this is the case then I'd rather have some plausible reason why the UFO is (visibly, if not actually) completely undamaged after the crash, instead of the same damage every time.

I had a couple more thoughts but they'll do for now.

Tom

[BTAxis]

When crash maps are generated randomly, as is desirable, there could be meshes of the UFO with different kinds of damage without having to duplicate any maps. Of course, that's cosmetics, so it's pretty far down on the priority list.

[Centron]

In response to what powers the UFO I suggest a power source that works like nuclear energy in a ways. A small amount of this 'fuel' could last for an extremely long amount of time. All 'active' (able to make power, etc.) types of this fuel are in special containment areas. My idea for collecting it is that when a UFO crashes, it self-destructs or locks off (under impenetrable doors) the 'reactor' and storage cells for the fuel to prevent any hazards from the damaged areas (explosions or radiation), but the 'depleted' fuel could still be accessed and later research ways to use it like depleted uranium (ie. Armor, ammo). The only way to get the 'active' fuel is by attacking a landed UFO or base. Then the 'active' fuel could be used for all your energy-related projects.

[Thought]

Looking over the base document, something doesn't make sense. Scouts are incredibly vulnerable, but the aliens are sending them out throughout the game? These creatures are capable of interstellar flight (apparently) yet they can't upgrade their own craft?

I'd recommend keeping that scout as a basic model, but also including a Scout mk II, as it were, that is a little faster and actually armed. Basically, something that the player can still shoot down easily but something that also show that the aliens are learning from humans at the same time we are learning from them. Indeed, it might be interesting if every alien craft had multiple forms (wouldn't necessarily need alternate models either, just different code). Perhaps the mk II scout has weapons, but the mk III is just much quicker (since the aliens realize that they can't add enough weapons to really deter anyone).

Basically, if we assume that the aliens can't get instantaneous backup, then they are going to want to protect their limited resources. This seems like it might be an easy way to expand the number of UFOs, give players the sense that their enemies are responding to them, and it remains consistent with what is known about the alien forces, all with relatively little additional work.

Just a,

Thought

[XCOMTurcocalypse]

Looking over the base document, something doesn't make sense. Scouts are incredibly vulnerable, but the aliens are sending them out throughout the game? These creatures are capable of interstellar flight (apparently) yet they can't upgrade their own craft?

They may be an advancing force with no production and retooling capabilities,just possessing supplies and recruits.And as such they would send what scouts they have as probes and/or cannon fodder/diversion.

Given the lack of human ethics in aliens,they also should send weaker units alone as fodder.

[Malick]

They may be an advancing force with no production and retooling capabilities,just possessing supplies and recruits.And as such they would send what scouts they have as probes and/or cannon fodder/diversion.

Well, with the actual form of the story, I think it is pertinent to say that the alien's invading force has little to no mean of producing new ships. They are an expeditionary force by definition: limited number of assets that they have to manage.

On the other hand, it's not totally irealistic to say that they are able to modify some of their crafts on the field. Like, say, making their Scout a bit faster and maneuvering by removing armor plates or pumping up their reactors, giving their Destroyer more firepower but reducing their speed and so on. These modifications have always been done by units on the field (look at WW2) and I see no reason (other than a technical difficulty) that the antareans wouldn't be able to do so.

Malick

[BTAxis]

I think implementing variants on the UFO classes should be relatively easy. It's just a matter of changing some numbers around, and perhaps adding or removing a weapon.

But keep in mind that we don't have meshes for all the UFOs as it is, and we can't really afford different meshes to reflect the modifications.

[Malick]

I think implementing variants on the UFO classes should be relatively easy. It's just a matter of changing some numbers around, and perhaps adding or removing a weapon.

But keep in mind that we don't have meshes for all the UFOs as it is, and we can't really afford different meshes to reflect the modifications.

As it is, having a Destroyer Mk IV and Destroyer Mk I look exactly the same is ok. It's not one or two guns that are going to change anything on screen. And this will give the player some nasty surprises  :wink:

Malick

[Thought]

As people have mentioned, one doesn't need a new model for variant UFOs, however something that might be easy is the age old video game technique of pallet swap. Programmers have been doing this since the old Mario Brothers day, so other than just converting the game file containing the image into a standard graphic file, it should be easy (of course, that single feat might be a mountain in itself, I am unsure). Additionally, if one has easy access to the image files, then one could even change the outside lighting (or lighting design) on the UFOs. Perhaps instead of being green, the lighting is blue, and the color of the craft goes from a medium gray to a light/dark grey.

Of course, the problem with any image change is that it might affect the UFOs both in flight and on the ground, but the technical side is beyond my keen.

Just a colorful,

Thought

[BloodMagus]

I don't think we need to go so far as to change the lighting.

Unless the changes affect the UFO cosmetically, why bother. I think the only difference would be the weapons mounted on the ship.

I.e the Scout MkII has fusion cannons as opposed to plasma cannons. Both of which look identical, but obviously downing a mkII gets you a pair of fusion cannons and not plasma cannons.

I think however the more superior models should have more equipment stored on them, better troops, to match the fact they'd put up more of a dogfight.

An interesting side note:

Would the superior ships crash in better or worse condition compared to their inferior models. I.e would the upgraded model crash more intact because its built better?
Or would the fact thats its a durable craft mean you'd have to blow more chunks out of it before it finally drops out of the sky, leaving only a basic endoskeleton?

[ShinobiTeNo]

Speaking of the fuel problem,.... why not to make a Elerium generator (as a base module)?