Whilst we wait for XCOM to dillydally for a few days, some ideas for new things we might design. For example, this mission type:
Recruit Collaborators: Not all Earthlings are irrationally opposed to our efforts to bring them into the Great Plan. Many are, for various reasons, willing to cooperate. Some want wealth, their desire for the worthless metal they call "Gold" overwhelming xenophobia. Others want knowledge, and will work for us in exchange for meaningless secrets. Some simply want to be a part of something greater than themselves. Whatever their motivation, we can accomodate them.
We send a team of negotiators to contact susceptible individuals, establishing communications and providing whatever it is they desire. Subsequently, the converted Earthlings will serve us, providing information on their country's actions, offering assistance in further missions, and spreading our influence to make way for our eventual takeover.
Mechanically, the goal of this mission is to contact, negotiate with, and then ensure the safe and anonymous departure of our new allies. Should XCOM interfere, they should be either eliminated, or kept away from the negotiations long enough for them to conclude, and prevented from identifying our collaborators.
Later on, we might revise that into :
High Level Negotiation: Certain members of the ruling classes of Earth have come to understand that our victory is inevitable. They are ready to discuss a peaceful resolution to this 'conflict'. We can offer them trinket technology, cessation or limitation of our activities in their country, and positions of power in the new world order. In exchange, they will reduce or halt funding for the XCOM project, willingly provide us with the materials and knowledge that we seek, and promise to assist us when we enter the final stages of assimilating Earth.
We will send a team of diplomats to a country which is ready to negotiate, and discuss matters with individual members of the local elite.
Mechanically, the goal of this mission is to contact, negotiate with, and then ensure the safe and anonymous departure of our new allies. Should XCOM interfere, they should be either eliminated, or kept away from the negotiations long enough for them to conclude, and prevented from identifying our collaborators.
A new species that would help a lot with both, mostly ripped from XCOM 2012:
Thin Man: Combining a selection of human DNA with some reptiloid stock in the gene banks produces this tall, thin species, which superficially resembles Earthlings. Clad in Earth clothing, they are able to blend in amongst people not paying too much attention, and can serve as negotiators and diplomats. Additionally, they are extremely agile, making them formidable foes in combat. Their capacity for the Gift is limited, though they do exude a psionic glamour that decreases the chances of people noticing them.
Something(s) a little bigger to fly around in:
Medium Harvester: Enough scouting. This is a ship dedicated to harvesting-style missions. Equipped with three cores, enough space for four units, and three plasma turrets, the Harvester also features a Tractor Beam, which can suck up people, animals, cars, and whatever else we feel like, to be sorted and stored away in the many holding cells in the ship.
Medium Invader: Simple ships are all fine and well for scouting and harvesting, but what about large-scale assaults? You need to be able to drop a substantial number of troops, and provide them with support. The Invader is designed for such purposes. A three-core ship, it is slower than scouts, but more heavily armoured. It has room for 6 units, four plasma turrets, and a new Plasma Mortar, not useful for ship-ship combat, but rather best employed in support of ground troops, providing artillery coverage across the entire battlefield.
Something to distract XCOM from the bigger things we are flying around in:
Unmanned Decoy: This extremely simple craft features only one notable piece of technology; the Decoy Beacon, which projects the image and radar signature of a much larger ship (the exact shape and size can be determined before launch). When XCOM sends interceptors to hunt down the threatening vessel, the Decoy will speed away, leading them on a merry chase. Should it be damaged and risk being shot down, it will self-destruct, rather than let XCOM capture even a scrap of our technology.
Another thing we'll want to consider is a mission type for setting up outposts on Earth:
Outpost Establishment: As our operations expand, doing everything from the far side of the moon becomes tricky. To improve our logistics, we need to establish a semi-permanent presence on Earth. Choosing a remote location, we dispatch a team of soldiers and engineers to secure the site and begin construction. Outposts will follow a common pattern- constructed primarily underground, featuring a camouflaged hangar entrance large enough for a Small Scout to land in, storehouses for supplies, a local command center, and barracks for troops to stay in.
Initially, we will use them to gather information and resources without having to launch missions from the moon all the time. More overt activity should be limited until we can expand the outpost into a proper base, which can be reinforced against XCOM counterattack.
Which to be worthwhile will require improved stealth tech, so we can set up outposts and be fairly confident that XCOM does not know exactly where they are:
Improved Cloaking: In order to avoid detection by the Earthlings, we have equipped our ships with these new cloaking devices. They use advanced materials to redirect both visible light and radar waves around themselves, making them all-but impossible to detect with the Earthlings' primitive sensors.
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Topic: Ethereals : XCOM Arms Race (Read 65920 times)