Ideas for the 2nd part

[SargE]

think i made it half thru the game now and got some ideas to write down before i forget them

first i want to say its my personal opinion and that u:am is an awesome game ..perhaps i am just infected with ufo 1 & 2 too much

 

i dont know the exact ending but the ufo:aftermath sequel could be like the following

 

after defeating the aliens world was rebuild [insert long text here]

 

the genetic advances during the alien war made it possbile to reproduce life forms that formerly crowded earth (insects,flowers,animals)

 

sadly phönix army did not kill ALL of the aliens ....(you have to discover that of course)

(aliens hidden in a camoflaged bunker system [perhaps under a big city] are secretly building a communication system to call for help from the mothership[which is galaxys away] that hosts the portal from part1 and are rebuilding a portel in that base too)

alien activity could be bit like in apo.. not that much activity at first [difficulty curve slowly moving up] but as soon as the portel is rebuild *uhoh* ..

 

things that are needed in part2 (my opinion of course)

 

-a turn based combat system (yeh rts is ok but tb is way more fun and tactical to play[reference the ufo parts and the jagged alliance series yeh even the awesome fallout series has it)

 

-fundings [Money!!](put in organisations or countries both has its pro`s and con`s.. generally a market system for sell/buy like ufo had)

 

-guided missiles (blaster bombs are a good example here .. man that was fun .. could be very expensive to build them to keep game balanced)

 

-more details on research and production (pics pics aaand pics to each thing developed/equipment part)

 

-the armor vs weapons thingie made me mad (for what do i research days long when the weapon impact gets caught in the shields ? best example here are the useless plasmaguns.. )

 

-the ufos (arr very nice design but way to small corridors/levels) would also like to see some more ships and a discription what they do (would be nice salt to research part)

 

-more sorts of aliens (like the muties but aliens)

 

thats it for now hehe

[daishiw]

The only major preferences I have with regards to the storyline is that at least part of it be based on Earth (or a planet populated by humans) and that we get to see and possibly interact with the civilians during the course of the game.

 

 

It's always helpful to be reminded of what you are fighting for - it makes the story that much more involving if you get to actually save people rather than it becoming just a sort of intellectual exercise with gore overlaid.

 

It's more fun if your actions or omissions have consequences e.g. you let the aliens run amok all over Asia until reports come in that the Chinese civilian population has taken [insert number] billion casualties and its all your fault :o !

 

Regarding the interface and gameplay:

 

- don't try to turn back the clock and implement turn-based action. it won't work as a hybrid, and a pure turn-based game is unlikely to succeed and please any but the most old-school tactical gamers. imo the way to go is to evolve the RTS system further, ideally to a stage where it isn't necessary to pause anymore. perhaps you should look to the micromanagement that takes place in games like warcraft3 with the hero-units. make the interface easy but powerful (unit grouping, hotkeys for everything, speedy reponses to all orders instead of taking ages to turn and run when told to) and then the tactical element can be more about the actual positioning and utilisation of units instead of pausing it to grapple with the pathing every 5s.

 

- funding is cool and definitely helps make you care about saving particular nations if for some reason you can't get into the storyline and don't care about saving faceless civilians out of the goodness of your heart. leaving it out just makes time your currency and means if you are crap then you end up having to spend heaps of time doing repetitions of the easier tactical missions which is a turn-off.

 

- the information and pictures on the research and weapons are alright, its more a presentation problem. I want the picture to be BIG and in the center with the information in a larger font and perhaps more concise. It should be more "HERE is your awesome toy you worked so hard for and THIS is what it does" rather than an overly verbose description with a dour spec sheet tucked at the bottom.

 

- DON'T clutter the research tree with too many unecessary items. IMO it doesn't make the game more fun to have both normal and enhanced laser and plasma guns. You are wasting my time if I have to research something again when the concept and place of the weapon is basically the same. The only excuse for this would be if I had all the low-grade stuff right at the start of the game and the upgrades were necessary to keep each weapon-type competitive later on in relation to newer, different weapons. The same goes for multiple types of alien rocketlauncher.

 

I also don't like needing to research 20 different types of slimey-blob aliens. Just give me a generic "mutant aliens the complete encyclopaedia". TBH I don't really care about the various mutant transgenants, I have no respect for those types of enemies in either this game or their other incarnations such as Xcom: Apocalypse. The intelligent aliens with advanced weaponry are far worthier foes and for me it spoils the tension of the game to have zombie/mutant blobs shambling towards you.

 

- Why make the heavy armour so useless and slow? Even more irritating is having the plasma launchers tear through your troops when the aliens first get them, but by the time you research the launchers yourself, the alien armour-type has become massively resistant to plasma damage the alien-cheese gun is now useless. At least give us a little window where we can use them with equal effectiveness, keeping us behind the curve for the entire rest of the game sucks.

[ShadowBlade]

No offense, but I think most of your ideas wouldn't work:

 

Turn-based combat system: The hybrid system that UFO:AM currently has is OK and I don't think a turn-based one would make it more "tactical". I guess UFO:AM is as tactical as it can be.

 

Funding: It'd be OK, but it'd resemble X-COM too much, along with the turn-based combat. Remember the game is NOT X-COM and I think it should protect its own identity. :hmmm:

 

Guided missiles: Terribly unbalancing! Yeah, you could blast the aliens easier, but first you must actually GET the alien weapon and research it before you can use it, and it'd be EXTREMELY difficult! Imagine sending a runner to avoid the rockets and moving your team when a missile is coming to them! They'd be IMPOSSIBLE to avoid and would tear your team apart in seconds. (Imagine 3-4 grays shooting guided rockets at you! GOD!) :devil:

 

Armor vs. Weapons: It's quite cool IMO, since it makes you THINK which loadout you should equip to your soldiers instead of giving rocket launchers to all of them.

 

UFOs: Yes, the narrow corridors inside the UFOs are a bit annoying, but they can be cleared. If it's too hard for you, just lower the difficulty.

 

More aliens and transgenants: Well, more aliens would indeed be cool, but I think there wouldn't be any transgenants after the war, since they'd be erradicated.

[SargE]

perhaps im too deep into Xcom

and perhaps someone develops a remake from ufo (dunno how far the xenocide team really is)

think i will just organise me an old pc and play ufo & tftd .... :inlove:

[Cpl. Facehugger]

Well, I agree with you ShadowBlade.

But two things I have noticed (read: People complaining about) are the uselessness of heavy armor and hybrid weapons and the overpower of psi.

 

Heavy armor should slow you down, but it should be able to provide more protection and stregnth (it is powered right?)

 

Psi should be nerfed. Then again, psi in xcom should of been nerfed.

 

dunno how far the xenocide team really is

 

well, I am a member of the Xenocide team, and I can tell you that we are near a new release. After this release, we will start working on getting the actual game functional. As opposed to what we have done up to this point, which is program to test how easily certain features can be added (such as base screen, graphs, menu, etc.)

[NandP]

Im no where near 50% of the game, but if i had to guess a conclusion, the humans win.

 

Since the aliens seem to have been beaten a time for rebuild emerges for the population of earth. Since the inhabitants of earth assume the aliens are no more they shut down many bases that were erected during the alien war. They leave 2 major bases available. Economy thrives once again and nations rebuild.

 

Im assuming humans do not have a base on the moon. With the economy thriving, big corporations are taking advantage of the new alien technology and plan to mine the moon for resources.

 

Mining outposts begin to the dot the surface of the moon. SO many that the installations are visible from the earth. Dawn of a new era.

 

March 3, 20xx. Miners discover strange tunnels in the moon. The miners also find strange objects with survey equipment that xray through the moons surface. The aliens have been planning to retake the planet using the moon as a invasion launch platform. They have also hallowed out the moon and created some super cannon. The miners ignore all this and continue to dig as ordered. The aliens take notice and finally attack the mining corporations. Once again the moon is left to the aliens. Before the corporation slaughter a distress signal was sent to earth.

 

(game begins) Human kind must stand up once again against a common enemy. Players will take missions to the moon from earth. The moon as 30 some mining facilities and ONE of these lead into the moon. The player will do recon/destroy missions at any of the mining facilities.

 

(sudden turn of events) When leaving a (a certain number) or (a certain facility) the aliens attack earth. When the aliens attack earth (think x-com enemy unknown) style. Missions to the moon are still possible, but are extremly difficult since the aliens are patroling the orbit of earth.

 

to be continue..........(im at work)

[ShadowBlade]

Nice ideas, NandP!

 

Im no where near 50% of the game, but if i had to guess a conclusion, the humans win.

DUH!

[Spawarotti]

cool

[Kozlov]

I liked the proposed somewhere (and not once) idea of taking the bad guys' side this time. Invade the Earth, send scouts, build mass destruction wepons, eliminate the resistance and so on. The gameplay may be rather similar to the present (without the shortcomes, desirably ) BUT with some pleasurable possibilities of games like Dungeon Keeper in terms of atmosphere. And down those miserable F-16s at last :alien2:

 

By the way, when I begun my criticizing topic (How to prevent an Armageddon) i placed some alternative (though not so different) storyline eather.

 

My point was - to make a game more struggle for survival, rather than to beat an enemy on our territory, than to move to its one. You should lose men constantly, lose bases and recapture them all the time. May be even not proper bases, but temporary strongholds, which are being captured, than you're forced to move to another ones.

You're slowly wiped out, but with time (and research) your counter-attacks become more painful. And in the end you can come up with some anti-alien biological weapon (good old H.Wells) or destroing their mothership or be hired by alien fleet - whatever it is called "winning" This kind of story doesn't suffer from not so real ideas of beating them with brute force (like we have here)

[Azxel]

thank God no one came up with some "aliens going back in time to take over the world and we follow them back and lose our technology so we have to research everything all over again" ideas

[Apoc868]

Im not to good a writing stories but here goes.

 

( Its the year 28##) Because of severe over population, Earth governments are desperatly searching for a solution when the (gov't or organization) suggests populating other planets. They get together and decide to check out mars first sense it appears to have once had rivers, strems and looks to have once had some acienct civilitation... ...once there the team gets out and starts to explore one of the so called acient ruins for a place to establish a base of operations. While walking around to find an entrance the ground caves in (member1) Falls in. :o. Soon the team finds a way to get down to (member1) once down there thay relize its some type of underground passage. The Team starts to explore and comes to a room which appears to hold several types of alien weapons. After seeing this the crew decides to check this place out. So on they go when thay open a door a huge blast of (goo, gas, whatever) hits everybody. When inside thay discover it appears to be some kind of lab where hideous experiments went on. Then all of a sudden (member 2) starts to freak out at seeing some type of growth in a (tube thing that has a body submerged in water thing you know what i mean?) start spazing out and breaks out and gets the goo stuff all over everybody and runs off (member2) getting the worst of the blast. Stuned the team returns to the ship and retires for the night... The next morning thay wake up at about 0600 hours to find (m2) missing so thay search fo him. Thay go in to the hole and get to the weapon room and see (M2) in the corner sitting there talking to him self. but something didnt look right for his skin was all red and bloody and his body was all sunken in. seeing this the remaining members hual ass back to the ship and tell the gov't that their coming back and about what they saw and take off at about 0800. that was the last that was heard from the ship untill it docked in the space station orbiting Earth. The space station sent a security team to check out the ship sense it didnt respond to the space station messages during docking. when thay open it thay notice its overgrown with some ET plant. The keep searching the ship and found one crew member or what looked like a mangled human body still alive. And then in the blink of an eye the security team is attacked. then the mars crew get out and takes over the space station and turning its crew in to what thay are. And there hasent been any contact sense. Now aliens are attacking earth ending civilation as we know it. now there are only around 2-3 million people left in the world constantly fighting to survive.

 

-So now its basicly #1 all over again with the newer tech and aromor

-ok i know theres a ton of spelling and I messed up so if parts dont make sense oh well.

-really the return of the alien is this infectous goo

- and the wepons in the base are morwe powerfull then ours just had to say that

- I dont know how good this is i just made it up it took me about an hour though

- so say what you think

[BlackAlmaz]

if i think about it.... i have bee compring ufo to the fallout series...from the moment i heard the game was caming out...i thought... this is going to be good....i saw the pics and that just poolled me in even more...

 

but u say that it should not be like X-com...i agree but i would like tanks...back in...id like level to level...house to house fighting...the alian weapons always hit...evan if they are lesars...the grey aim cant be all that good....i realy like your story lines...and agree that the game shoud have outposts...and missions to raid bases....

 

the idea i liked in UFO was that the humans\counties u did not defend make deals with the alians...

 

i think the world should straight away be yours....all the milatry bases under control...with anti air weaponry.....but because they alians are strong and have sheilds...u lose units and bases..thus crating gaps between bases(devide and concour)....u should be able to control at least 12 units...it makes it more real....there should be anti personla defence in the bases....and a teleport from the moon to earth..cause we already have one....teleportasion from base to base should also be alowed....

 

i would also like other teams to work with me....I'm Alpha and i'd like the Russian Spetnz and German DRG...to fight along side me on big mission like defense against alians....on a bse(because its funny just having 1-15 units for a network of bases...and having only one choper...We hear of other troops but i want to see them...in action

 

in the next version id like to se terror attacks...and if posible scintest,engeniers,pilots and other civilion members u have saved...eg the presdents of the countries... (which u need to save...they are in bases from there country and if lost they can telleport to other bases...they play a key part in your "funding") ..... roming the base when attacked...

 

about the equipment can ve have M4 With m203(rpg) or aks...and how bout that new model i keep seeing in bases...the (row)?? i dont know what its called but i see it in bases...it has a rifle at the bottom and a rpg at the top....u know the cool gun from (soldier of fortune 2)

 

id like the campain not to depand on u...but u are the main force...if u dont do anything in a mission id like to see other squeds to do there stuff...But with your guidens(u can place way points at the start of the mission

 

the alians should slo have tanks...flying bike whatever to make it harder....

 

The baster launchr was a favret...but cause its not turn based...and i dont wanted to be....will give eather side a much bigger advanteg...eg i come to a corner..and wait...my other units go around to flank...than to rockets just fly out of the lunchers..and rip my squed into bits....see my point

 

and i have been told that this is to much work...but what do they get payed for...if this is going to come out offcialy

 

and sorry for the English

[BlackAlmaz]

well if u think about it....every person would be petriotic to the earths couse...some might try and alley with the allians with the hope of saving them selves....but the rest would fight...to think about it give a ak to 15 year old in a third world country today and they will fight for their couse...but if every one is once again in denger of the alian threat they should really together to servive...but it wont be that easy as area needs to be secured...and people not only saved but recruited...instead of waitnig for new recruits to join... the game should be able to go to twons and offer evacs and shelter or protection..if they take arms against the invaders....new bunckers are built from scretch(double time) and the game should not last just over 136 days...like mine did.... but it wont be easy (again) as the enemys are progressing quickly and they come from the sky so holding one large terotory would be very hard...once again i'll metion that it shoild have some time of anti air weapons....

 

the next Game sholud also allow options...like play with AI as i metioned before...(this would be for easy) but on diificult the more ground u lose...the less AI u get each mission...untill u get back ground...

 

this should be held over years macking it more of a strugle

[incarnadine]

I don't understand the need for funding. 90% of the earth's population is destroyed and the governments are non existent. Money is good for toilet paper sure but I fail to see who will be calling up a non existent bank to tell them that the payments hasn't arrived. It's Armageddon! Build me my guns or I'll put a bullet in your head, or worse: send you outside and have the Bio Mass eat you.

[incarnadine]

as far as the sequel I'd like to see a renegade Earth team highjack a ship and go to the alien's home world and do a little bit of Bio Mass gardening.

FOR GREATER JUSTICE!!!