Jump to content

Intercept combat...


YautjaGod

Recommended Posts

I have a question with UFO interceptions. Since interceptions will be automatic as in X-com 1, will there still be basic commands such as close in, hold at weapon range, and pull back, or will it be total automation with no control whatsoever?

 

Also will individual aircraft be manufactured or will there be a continuous supply to bases?? And if you research an upgrade for aircraft will you need to build a new one with the new technology, or is it just immediately added onto the old design?

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have we been told that they will be automatic then? I would think that if they are automatic it would be similar to that of an XCom game. Although it would be nice to be able to fight it manually. It would be like a mini game. Only as an option though as it may get tiresome extremely fast (Cough cough XCom interceptor cough cough)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey now, the intercepts were the whole tactical aspect of Interceptor. Essentially that was X-COM: Flight Simulator. I thought it was fun, combined the resource and research management of the X-COM games with a space flight sim. It was a good spin off.

 

And so would have (will??!) X-COM: Alliance, for those of us who are into first person shooters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going to save Pete a moan here and say I know it was sort of my fault we got here but we shouldn't be talking about XCom here. If anyone wants to discuss Interceptor or Alliance then go here --->XTC

 

And my work is done! Oh no... I'm becoming a moderator :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Indeed. The picture in the gallery of the world seems to have an interception in progress. If you look at the bottom-right of the picture, there's a little movie clip playing where an Earth-based craft is firing on a UFO.

 

No controls have popped up, so I'm guessing it's automated. If you're going to compare it to X-COM, hen you're really not losing much by taking some controls out, as you almost always eitehr shot it down, blew it up or ate it's dust, so I reckon this will be similar but with a nice movie clip instead of a panel with a few controls and come green blips on it :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I don't know... I quite liked the little green blips... :laugh:

I saw the screenshot you mean though and it does look quite smart. I like the look of the little video but presumeably that means there will simply be for each UFOtype (if there are types!) two videos. Humans kill UFO, Aliens kill interceptor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also would prefer a colourfull video istead of green blips. But it would be nice if they are not perrendered cause you know the end of the battle when you have recognized the first few frames of a clip...

 

Bimbo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if the video will change based on weapon types, intercept craft (will we ever get alien ships as a strike fleet?) and ufo size... Also I wonder if we'll see a blow for blow account of the combat, like would it include misses and hits? E.g. You had a f-15 shooting a missile and it hits, then the ufo opens up its plasma cannons but misses, then the f-15 closes in and uses cannons to blow it out of the sky. And another time the f-15 has lasers and they are rapid fire but miss half the time and the ufo is a dodging the fire as it escapes... Reckon we'd see this kind of action in the clips? Or will it be...

 

YOU WIN!! - shows a f-15 shoot a missile and crash the ufo

 

YOU LOOSE - shows the ufo shooting plasma and the f-15 crashes

 

I can see how including lots of different possibilities could increase the file sizes as they have to pre render every weapon and combination. But still it would rock. They would need all the weapon effects, ship types, and then as each ship takes a turn to fire the camera would show the relevant clip of the weapon effect, then if it is a miss, they could show a dodge clip (maybe selected randomly from 3 dodge sequences), if they hit then they show a hit sequence (once again a random choice from a selection), then if that hit makes it crash showing a crash clip or if the ufo runs away so that clip.

 

I know the weapons would need their own clips for each effect but if there are 10 ship weapons, and you'd have 2 different shoot sequences for each, plus the type of ship shooting (maybe there are 3 different strike craft) it would be 60 clips for weapon effects, and 30 for ufos (10 ufos but they would only have maybe 3 different weapons). Then we would have 9 dodge sequence clips ( 3 for each strike craft), 30 for ufo (3 for each ufo), 4 hit sequences (bullet, explosion, energy, crash) for each enemy ufo (maybe 10 ufos) and 12 for intercept craft (4 for each intercept, but I'm not sure if bullet should be included), and finally the run sequence for the ufo (1 for each ufo). Feww ok lets see if this would be worth it....

 

90 weapon effects (seeing the craft shoot it)

39 dodge effects (seeing the craft avoid attack)

52 hit sequences (seeing the craft get hit or crash)

10 run sequences (seeing the ufo escape)

 

191 sequence clips

 

Ok now if each clip was 200k (they would only run for like 1 - 2 seconds)

 

thats 38 Mb, ok lets make the clips longer (500k, 5 - 6 seconds), thats 95 Meg.

 

OK these sequences are the maximum needed for this method. You could use the same weapon clip if its between 2 missiles or 2 lasers. If the strike craft will always look the same but with just a few upgrades then you'd only need the one type. Plus this would of course change based on the actual weapon numbers and ufos out there.

 

These clips would fit together easily by just changing the camera angles for each effect, so for example you have the camera along side or behind the strike craft and it shoots at the ufo, then it cuts to the ufo seeing the weapon hit it, or the ufo dodging it, and back again.

 

I believe that this system would totally rock and I see no real reason why this couldn't be done. Yeah I know that there would be heaps of clips but they individually would only be small, and using this instead of one or two generic combat vids is totally a must!! If you did this than it would very much make up for not having some sort of simulation for combat.

 

Man I'm not gonna go back and read all that for spelling errors! :laugh:

 

Anyone like the system I've proposed??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I'm right here. There have been two scenarios discussed, as far as I know.

 

1. We whip up a ton of simple videos detailing possible outcomes of various combats, and the result of the intercept is played depending on the outcome as determined.

 

2. We render a small scene in the corner that changes dynamically along several projected paths, and is affected by the types of weapons used and the progress of the fight as it happens.

 

Which one we're going to use hasn't been finalized yet. More information will be available as the game comes closer to completion, as always.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...

Interceptor? neither did i.

but heard it wasn't that great.

 

i'm dissapointed about the squad-based First/Third Person X-Com game that was scraped though... erm... no, not X-Com Enforcer.

 

I remember seeing the shots and reading the preview a few years back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I liked Interceptor. It was like combining a space sim with the X-COM resource management and plotline. Not everyone's cup of tea though. I for one did not and will not buy or play X-COM: Enforcer. I don't like third person shooters and that was just an arcade game with the X-COM name on it. bleah.

 

I was (am!!!!!) looking forward to X-COM: Alliance. I play alot of first person shooters, and combining that with X-COM squad tactics and resource management is just too cool for words. I just hope that Firaxis realizes the potential of that game and continues/finishes development on it.

 

I have the X-COM: Alliance poster that came with the X-COM Collectors Edition on my bedroom door, in fact. :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
  • Create New...