That was kinda the point of the above post I think, if Russia really does that then you're safe as long as you actually
the aliens over their heads, thus keeping them happy enough not to withdraw funding.
Anyway, to take the thread on a tangent, I'd like to describe a variant of the X-Com premise that I've been formulating in my head, with intent to take a stab at producing something of the kind in ever-glorious ASCII.
In the far-off year of... whatever, the Earth is under attack by aliens. In sharp contrast to the usual way of things, the public is well aware of the threat. The governments and the military pour far too much funding into keeping the invaders at bay to be secretive about it as well, and generally they're doing a pretty good job. The player is a CEO of one of the many corporations of the Earth, a privately owned enterprise with good profit margins, even if currently one of the smallest on the globe. What puts it ahead of others is a healthy supply of healthy and very well-fed brainheaded "lab rats", and the piece of technology said lab rats recently produced - the Subspace Field Array, a breakthrough in faster-than-light detection and communications. Through this discovery, it was found that the known alien threat isn't the only one.
On to specific details. The basic system is the same Geoscape/Tactical mix, with the player overseeing a number of bases, issuing orders to available aircraft and general forces in realtime, then eventually fighting things on the ground in tactical turn-based mode. There are several principal differences in game setup and some of the proceedings. At the start of the game, the player selects a country to start in. He then receives a central office in a major city of his choice, and at most five branch offices spread randomly through other cities of the country, sized in such a way that the total per month income equates roughly five million dollars. Each office is a building, a three-dimensional grid, in which there is (what else?) a central access lift, and some basic facilities. Both the overground and underground parts of the building can be occupied for special areas such as R&D, manufacturing, detection and built-in defenses, but every tile of overground building thus occupied removes a chunk of "office space", the default filling of the building, one that, per game mechanics, generates the extra revenue. Thankfully, the non-secret nature of the corporation means that the really big things - the hangars and major defense installations - are placed in the surrounding area, not the building itself.
The starting setup includes six basic aircraft, two interceptors, and one troop transport, with the latter two fielded near the central office, and the rest distributed between all offices. The city around the central office is also defended by an array of four missile batteries. Each city is a large area where defense emplacements can be placed, to ward off attackers not unlike your typical DotA setup. The office building itself can house such defenses as well, often in greater quantity at the expense of office space. The player can order construction of new office buildings to complement existing ones, but not refurbish old ones for more space. Placement of external defenses and other off-site assets is manual, on a grid with clearly defined "city" areas that are off-limits for such construction.
The technology loadout in the beginning is little better than the original X-Com. Personal energy weapons are limited to electric stunners, so most small arms are custom-made (faction-specific, to be precise) firearms and projectile launchers. Aircraft and stationery platforms benefit from advances in power generation and are able to utilize decently powerful lasers, though none possessing near the destructive power of a well-aimed heavy cannon or missile.
Research would be handled in a rather different mode than is usual. Instead of outright deferring scientists to specific projects, there are directions of research. Conventional weaponry, missile weaponry, laser weaponry, etc, with progress in each gradually making more and more things available for use. Entirely new directions of research would be opened by studying artifacts recovered on missions, or traded for with the rival corporations. Studying the artifact would enable its immediate use, but not production, as that would require deeper understanding of its underlying principles. Technologies could also be traded to either the rival corporations or the governments/military themselves. This introduces a new twist to the game, as it is possible to sell off your subspace communicator and have the military or a rival deal with any new menaces as well. Conversely, once the existence of the technology becomes known, your central office will come under attack by rivals, which you should anticipate. This gives you a freedom to either make the game easier for you, earning less points and missing out on some of the unique encounters, or being stingy and wading through angry hell yourself, perhaps eventually becoming the biggest company (left) on Earth.
During the game, the player will constantly see everything that happens on the Earth, as well as the Moon and a little further than that. Unlike X-Com where you had trouble detecting invaders, here you have trouble picking your targets because the subspace detector can give you a size and position at most. For the first month or two, the game would allow the player to get himself some decent soldiers and build up some defenses in preparation for the events to come. Essentially, new alien ships will materialize out of subspace and attack the nearest target for seemingly no reason, making a point of ignoring the existing alien threat. Then a few more things will happen, and things will go downhill from there. Unless the player trades in the subspace tech, his will be the only forces capable of defending against this threat, and as long as he will succeed in doing that the populace will be happy. Which is essential.
Part of the effects of having the government occupied with other alien threats is that the corporation is entirely self-funding. The cubicles of office space manage resources and other things, producing income that feeds the corporation's war machine, but how much any given cubicle makes (in game terms, of course) depends entirely on the public's opinion of the corporation. At first, only the opinion in the starting country will matter. Later, as the player branches out to get more money, he will need to monitor his activities there as well. Any collateral damage incurred during missions is taken out of the corporation's pocket - if the player so chooses. If he doesn't, his rating will fall. If he chooses to spend extra on the rebuilding efforts, or simply financially helps other areas rebuilding from attacks, ratings will rise. Other factors will be involved as well, with at least one of research branches directed at improving public image.
When an alien craft attacks a populated area, first it has to land. If the player has assets in the area, he will see a map of the city, with all of its defenses and the incoming aliens displayed. In real time, the alien craft will attempt to land, while its escorts (if any) spread out and take out the defenses. If the craft lands, it does not disappear, but remains an active threat to any aircraft the city may have rising to help the defense. At some point either the attackers or defenders will lose. If the attackers win, the remaining small craft begin harassing the populace and causing infrastructure damage, while alien operatives move out and occupy the city tile by tile. The more time passes, the more tiles will be occupied, and the more time will have to be spent by the player's (or anyone else's) agents cleaning the mess up. If the defenders win the air battle, the remaining craft will begin strafing the landed ship(s) and occupied city tiles unless ordered otherwise. This will cause more collateral than a proper ground mission, and won't provide spoils unless you have a branch office in the area, but it's an effective way of dealing with things when you can't spare the manpower.
Once the ground mission starts, it's more or less X-Com, with similar mechanics. If you have BFFs or HACs in the sky above the area, you will also have an option to order them to support you. Not direct firing orders, but general directions that basically denote how much collateral you're willing to put up with as they make strafing runs. A BFF, being for all intents and purposes a rocket helicopter, will make strafing runs every other turn. An Interceptor, if you have one already in the sky as the mission begins, can make a flyby every 8 turns. A HAC, sporting the most weapons and the best ground fire capability, will be available for death from above every turn.
A word on Craft weapons. BFFs, INTs, and HACs have their armament broadly divided into three types, with each mounting only one weapon class for each type, at most. The number of each weapon carried, however, varies by model.
Light Weapons - the rapid-fire, weak-hitting kind. At the start of the game, only machine guns and light cannons will be here. Despite being "light", they still pack considerable firepower, especially on a platform as versatile as the BFF.
Heavy Weapons - providing the lion's share of lasting firepower carried by any craft, these usually have at least one of their stats extremely high. The Autocannon provides rate of fire, the Heavy cannon provides stopping power, and the Laser cannon provides accuracy.
Projectile weapons - low in numbers and quickly exhaustible, these provide the most firepower in a single package. Initially only guided missiles and dumbfire rockets fill these slots, but more appear later on.
As far as armament goes, the BFF is the middleweight, with usually no more than two of each weapon type. The Interceptors lack the need for light weapons with their tactics, so designs with up to four heavy weapons are not uncommon. Finally, the HACs are the ultimate in firepower, and as such frequently have as much as four Projectile and Heavy slots, with Light weapons scattered around on turrets. The Transports setting down the agents also have their turrets, which are usable by the player - either directly when the craft is on the ground, or indirectly if it's ordered to lift off and provide air support.
Well, that was long. And a tiny bit incoherent.
Anyway, I've been thinking over this premise, trying to find any obvious faults. Would you play a game like this? Why?
Author
Topic: Playing X-Com for the first time. (Read 24702 times)