Proposals/Implants

Introduction

Soldiers can be surgically equipped with implants at the hospital to augment or manipulate their abilities. Once installed in the hospital they can only be removed at the hospital and, when removed, can not be salvaged.

There are three types of implants: those that temporarily alter a soldier's chemistry, those that permanently modify a soldier's physiology, and the implant which enables psionic powers.

Soldiers can equip a maximum of two implants at any one time.

Implant Types

Note: All of the numbers here will need to be adjusted.

Chemical Implants

Chemical implants can be activated in the Battlescape and do not cost TU. When activated, they inject chemicals into the soldier's bloodstream. Each chemical injection can enhance performance in some areas, but too much use (an overdose) can permanently degrade regular performance.

Amphetamine Injection: Improves focus briefly but leaves the soldier below normal performance when it wears off.

• Effect Duration: 3 turns
  • Accuracy: +10%
  • TU: +10%
  • Morale: +10%
• After-effect Duration: 3 turns
  • Accuracy: -10%
  • TU: -10%
  • Morale: -10%
• Overdose-risk: -20% Accuracy, -10% TU

Stabilizers: Reduces heart rate and calms nerves to steady the hands and boost morale. But it weakens the Mind's resistances.

• Effect Duration: 2 turns
  • Accuracy: +10%
  • TU: -10%
  • Morale: +10%
  • Mind: -10%
• After-effect: None, regular performance resumes
• Overdose-risk: -10% TU

Emergency Repair: This implant automatically activates when a soldier is wounded and provides life-saving adjustments to the body's chemistry to slow blood loss.

• Effect Duration: 3 turns
  • Bleeding Damage: -2 per wound
• After-effect: None, regular performance resumes
• Overdose-risk: None

Physiological Implants

Physiological implants are always on and usually produce cumulative effects over time. They may improve one or another aspect of the soldier's capabilities, but often degrade other aspects or stunt development in other fields. There should be an upper-limit to how much an implant can improve a stat. They can be removed at the hospital.

Muscle Stimulant: Improves protein intake and boosts strength over time.

• 3% Strength value ADDED TO Strength each week
• 3% Mind value REMOVED FROM Mind each week

Cerebral Activation: Stimulates the development of new brain cells and redirects energy consumption to brain repair.

• 3% Mind value ADDED TO Mind each week
• 3% Strength value REMOVED FROM Strength each week

Retinal Augmentation: Splices the feed from small cameras worn by the soldier straight into the retina, expanding the soldier's field of view.

• Expands soldier FOV to 180 degrees
• Reduces accuracy by 10%

Psionic Implants

There is only one psionic implant. It enables a soldier to link to the alien network and perform psi-abilities.

UI

Implants should appear in the equipped or character stats window. Those which must be activated in the battlescape should have a button that appears somewhere.

Script Definition

Here is a suggestion for how the scripts could be defined. I'm sure whoever implements it will have their own ideas. If this was done generically for all items, then we could use some of these effects for other items (for instance, we could make a piece of headwear give an accuracy boost). Or give an effect to a regular weapon's firemode.

// Amphetamine Injection
item implant_amphetamine
{ 
	/* Basic details */
	name		"_Amphetamine Implant"
	model		"weapons/implants/amphetamine"
	weapon		false
	price		8000
	size		1

	/* If we ever implement animations for activating an implant? */
	animationindex	2

	/* Implant-specific parameters */
	implant		true	
	
	/* A single firemode for those implants which are used on Battlescape */
	weapon_mod
	{
		weapon implant_amphetamine
		firedef
		{
			name	"_Use" // Probably not necessary
			projtl	null
			impact	null
			hitbody heal
			shots	1
			ammo	5
			firesnd	"weapons/implant"

			/* Effects */
			effect active
			{
				duration	3	// 3 turns
				accuracy	10	// +10%
				tu		10
				morale		10
			}
			effect inactive
			{
				duration	3
				accuracy	-10
				tu		-10
				morale		-10
			}
			effect overdose
			{
				permanent	true
				accuracy	-20
				tu		-10
			}
		}
	}
}

// Muscle Stimulant
item implant_muscular
{
	/* Basic details */
	name		"_Muscle Stimulant"
	model		"weapons/implants/stimulant"
	weapon		false
	price		8000
	size		1

	/* Implant-specific parameters */
	implant		true	
	
	/* Cumulative effects outside of Geoscape */
	effect strengthen
	{
		period		7	// Frequency to add attribute
		strength	3	// Percent of attribute to add to attribute
		mind		-3
	}
}

Roadmap

An outline of how we can proceed in smaller steps. Psionics is ignored as it will be developed alongside its own roadmap.

Mark I

Implants can be researched, produced and installed on a soldier to give benefits. Chemical Implants only partially implemented, to provide always-on stats bonus.

Tasks:

• Tech articles for implants and a tech tree if needed.
• Placeholder artwork for the implant tech items.
• Hospital UI to add/remove implants.
• Code:
  • Support for implants in data structure.
  • Support for implants in soldier equipment.
  • Simple, always-on status effects in the Battlescape. No cooldown/negative effects at this stage.
    • Amphetamine
    • Stabilizers

Mark II

Support for temporary battlefield effects and the after-effect period.

Tasks:

• HUD:
  • Button to activate implants individually.
  • Display of effect and after-effect period.
• Code: Support for duration and after-effect duration.

Mark III

Support for permanent overdose effects.

• UI:
  • Some sort of HUD representation of overdose risk, so player knows how much he's using it.
  • HUD and base display of overdose effects.
• Code: Implement effects

Mark IV

Support for Physiological Implants with monthly effects.

• Tech entries for these implants.
• Models for these implants.
• UI: Some sort of representation of stat growth/decline in Implants window.
• Code:
  • Support for time-based effects on stats.
  • Save data on when implant was installed.

Mark V

Support for special implants Emergency Repair and Retinal Augmentation.

• Tech entries.
• Models.
• UI:
  • Emergency Repair: display how long it will last before bleeding begins going at full strength again.
  • Retinal Augmentation: maybe just an icon above a soldier with this? Or in their stats window?
• Code: Implement the features necessary for these.

Concept Art

• 

  Injection implant